He was a familiar figure at both the old and new Covent Garden wholesale markets, with his trademark flat cap and a well-thumbed copy of the Racing Post poking out of his jacket pocket.
But Terry Roberts, who worked there for over 40 years, passed away on 18 September. He was 83.
Michael Roberts, a director at New Covent Garden Market-based Gilgrove, said his family had been inundated with cards and messages since his father’s death: “Everyone has said what a gentleman he was, and that he was a pleasure to know, and someone who always wore a smile,” he said.
“Many will recall him by his distinctive appearance. He loved the horses, and indulging this passion was one of the ways he did his trade – selling produce while talking about the racing.”
He added: “It was a different era in his time – some days he’d do his trade in the pub. He’d come back, and he’d have sold eight or 10 pallets of tomatoes.”
Terry Roberts started working in the old Covent Garden market aged 18. His son told FPJ that he was known as the “tomato king”, as he was synonymous with this product.
Roberts started life in the market working at Lyons, staying on as the firm joined with EC Dean to become Lyons and Dean. He later joined C&C, staying there until he retired, aged 60. He then moved to Southampton, where his funeral takes place today (9 October).
Michael Roberts added: “He had so many friends at the market, and he just loved the comradeship of it all, and the camaraderie.”
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