Described – lovingly – as the "Basil Fawlty of Edinburgh hotel managers", Mr Rock, who went by his middle name, led a colourful life.
His eldest son Roman, who compared his father to the infamous Torquay hotelier, said: "If people rang up and ask
ed him if the hotel was central, he would tell them if they want central then book into the Castle! I don't think his heart was in the hotel business. He could do all of the repair work, he was very practical, but he was useless front of house."
Born on March 29, 1923, in western Poland, Mr Rock was the youngest of eight children. Evacuated from his home during the Second World War, he joined the Polish army – but being too young to be a soldier he enlisted as a photographer. So began a long love affair with photography.
His journey to Scotland came via a German prisoner-of-war camp, from which he escaped, and a refugee boat from France. By 1950 he had settled in Edinburgh and began a photography business on Brandon Terrace, Stockbridge.
On March 29, 1960, he married Doreen Nicol at St Stephen's Church, Stockbridge, following a six-year courtship.
In 1965 they relocated his business to what is now the Christopher North Hotel, on Gloucester Place, Stockbridge, bought for just £1000.
Originally the family home and a photographic studio, Mrs Rock convinced her husband to let out two of the upstairs rooms. By 1970 the house was a fully licensed hotel and was the principal business of the family until it was sold in 1997.
Outside of the hotel business, Mr Rock was a shrewd businessman, developing a significant property portfolio in the area surrounding the hotel.
Daughter Michelle said: "He came to Edinburgh with nothing but he was full of determination. He was a man of strong moral fibre, a perfectionist, and he wasn't fazed by anything. He could speak Polish and English fluently – and dabble in German, Russian, and Spanish as well.
"He didn't have much free time but he could never sit still when he did. He enjoyed his photography. A couple of his shots of the Castle have been converted into postcards.
"He was also very knowledgeable about history, especially Polish history. He enjoyed golf, and liked to learn about nature." His youngest son Christopher remembers him as "always active in helping anyone around him. He kept his guard up though and he always worked a lot."
Doreen died in 1993 but he is survived by his three children: Roman, Michelle and Christopher.
The full article contains 459 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
