Topic - Obituary - Rod Tuck,
founder of Kvitåvatn Fjellstoge
Date first posted on eCommunity - 7
January 2007
Rod Tuck died last year. Many British cross-country
skiers will remember him fondly from Kvitåvatn, which he founded in the early
1970s and then managed for some 20 years. The following obituary
appeared in the Globe & Laurel magazine of July/August 2006 and is
reproduced by kind permission of its editor, John Hillier.
CAPT R F TUCK RM
Most people fit one or two, possibly three careers in their life.
Rod Tuck's list was a little longer: Royal Marines officer, winter
and summer Olympic athlete, mountaineer and explorer, jockey,
hotelier, university lecturer, journalist, author, and
philanthropist. The French have an expression for someone like
him: `c'est un originale'!
There is a common thread though all these aspects to his life:
thorough preparation, huge effort, perseverance, and inspiration to
others; he had a passion for life combined with a wicked sense of
humour. He would not accept second best.
Tuck was born in 1934 in Southsea into a naval family and showed an
independent streak from early age, which later would aggravate many
senior officers in the Corps. After Charterhouse he joined the Royal
Marines in YO 6 batch from which he passed out top, and shortly
afterwards undertook expeditions to Tibesti and the Sahara and then
the Atlas Mountains in Morocco during which he displayed tenacity
and vigour which were to characterise his life.
He served in 42 Commando in Borneo and 45 Commando in Aden as a
company commander during the emergency, later advising the Corps on
cold weather warfare in the early days of commitment to the northern
flank of NATO. With his sporting prowess to the fore, Tuck qualified
as a PT and Sports Officer, later becoming Inspector of PT.
British champion in biathlon and cross country skiing several times,
and in the top two or three in UK in modern pentathlon, it is likely
that he is the only person to have represented GB at a winter and
summer Olympics in the same year - biathlon in Innsbruck and modern
pentathlon in Tokyo 1964. This shows what a dedicated athlete he
was, when one considers the self-control needed to maintain a high
level of training in many conflicting disciplines over many years.
Later Tuck developed orienteering in UK and was British team manager
in 1968/9.
Rod met his wife, Gitte, at a modern pentathlon competition in
Paderborn in Germany, and they married in 1967. Their three children
have also enjoyed adventurous travel and sports and he was so proud
of their achievements. Tuck kept himself fit long after the
Olympics; he won the Baltic States 50m veterans swimming race, and
at a Wellington school open day, one of the boys was overheard
saying `who is that bald-headed old coot at the start of the mile'.
Unsurprisingly, he won the race.
He took early retirement from the Corps and moved to Rjukan in
Norway where he became a developer, hotelier and ski instructor,
providing facilities for tourists, winter Olympic athletes and Royal
Marines on-snow warfare training. Kvitavatn was an eco-lodge long
before the term was coined, set on the beautiful plateau above
Rjukan, with stunning views across a lake to Gausta Mountain. The
Tucks created a village community there, providing workshops and
accommodation for local artisans by salvaging mountain cabins that
were being abandoned, transporting the huge logs in Rod's long-suffering Mercedes bus, and reerecting the cabins, complete with
traditional grass roofs. It was not difficult to see what a
demanding job it was, not only running a hotel in minus 20 degrees,
but arranging and maintaining great Nordic training and craft
facilities.
After two bad winters without snow, and with the rising Norwegian
kroner, Tuck moved to Lithuania in 1992, where he had many friends
through his generous support of their Olympic ski teams, and he
served on the Lithuanian Olympic Committee. He became a university
lecturer, teaching English, and a journalist for the English
speaking newspapers. These were poignant times just after the fall
of the Berlin Wall and the newly won independence of the Baltic
States and Tuck's articles were thought provoking and a wonderful
historic record as he wrote about what was happening in Lithuania
and commented on events in the rest of the world; he also became an
author, writing, illustrating and publishing his own
book: `Scribblings Of An Idle Fellow' - a perceptive view on
Lithuanian modern history.
Needless to say, after the wild landscape of Kvitavatn, Tuck did not
like the traffic jams in Kaunus, and naturally, he came up with a
typical Rod solution that combined pleasure with commuting
convenience: he swam to work along the river, aged 60 plus - and
sailed his yacht on the inland sea. He also became a philanthropist,
often attending the opera and ballet, and he helped talented
students by sponsoring them to compete in international competitions
at the start of their careers; one is currently at the Guildhall
School of Music and Drama in London.
In November 2004 Tuck suffered a stroke and was very well cared for
in Lithuania, making a good recovery from severe paralysis, but he
later returned to England after an operation for cancer. A member of
his extended family visited him in hospital in Chichester after the
operation and was surprised to find an empty bed, only to be told
that Rod had started his training programme - an increasing number
of corridor lengths each day! Finally, he moved into `sheltered
accommodation' in Chichester. `Rod Tuck' and `sheltered' are not
words that one would associate together, but he soon donated a piano
to the communal sitting area, arranged monthly concerts, and social
events. Almost daily he found something new in which to take an
interest, whether it was working for the Weald and Downland Museum,
visiting antique shops or art galleries, or just sitting on a bench
pursuing his favourite pastime: talking to people. His enthusiasm
for life was enormous and stimulating. He will be greatly missed by
his family and friends, whom he never ceased to amaze.
The Globe & Laurel July/August 2006
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