Talk:Paddy Roy Bates

Seperate article
IMO, Bates is a colorful enough character to get his own article, especially since he seems to have had some significance in the pirate radio world before founding Sealand. I'm going to take a shot at writing an article on him. Isomorphic 04:59, 17 May 2004 (UTC)

OK, I did what I could. There's more to write, I think. I could've wished for some better sources, but it doesn't seem like anyone's written anything definitive. I'd especially like a clearer picture of the disputes over Knock John Tower and Roughs Tower, when Bates first took each of them. The sources I found make it sound like he physically evicted someone from Knock John when he arrived, but I'm not sure. It's not clear at all whether there was anyone occupying Roughs Tower when he arrived, only that O'Rahilly had made an earlier claim, and made some attempt to asser that earlier claim. The incident with the petrol bombs seems to be widely reported. Isomorphic 08:39, 17 May 2004 (UTC)

his "titles"
I changed known as to styling himself as it's not clear that anyone really takes all this Sealand nonsense seriously. I mean it's decent and all for England not to kick him out, but that doesn't mean Wikipedia should endorse him - or denounce him, for that matter. Let's describe the man neutrally. Let this be a textbook case of not taking sides. Uncle Ed July 8, 2005 19:13 (UTC)
 * I agree. Thanks. Isomorphic 9 July 2005 00:28 (UTC)

What is the knock john tower mentioned in the article? All of the other sealand articles point to Rough's Tower (changing) ...

What nonsense? It's a sovereign nation. It's in international waters, and can be independant if it wants. The article should be renamed to "Roy I, Prince of Sealand", in the manner of any other sovereign princes (liechtenstein, monaco, etc.). -Alex, 12.220.157.93 05:25, 28 February 2006 (UTC).


 * It's a decrepit WW2 relic that will probably eventually fall into the sea during a storm. Comparing it to Monaco is just plain silly. --Gene_poole 06:05, 28 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Being a "decrepit WW2 relic that will probably eventually fall into the sea during a storm" and being "plain silly" compared to Monaco does nothing to support your argument: how does that make Sealand sovereign or not sovereign? Seungri400 (talk) 18:09, 24 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Just realized I'm 16 years late. Seungri400 (talk) 18:09, 24 April 2022 (UTC)

Death?
The article claims that Bates died in Jan 2006, but I can't find a single news report about it. Hoax? --kingboyk 21:51, 2 February 2006 (UTC)
 * See Talk:Sealand. --kingboyk 04:45, 4 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Certainly a hoax. Prader-Willi syndrome is an astronomically unlikely cause of death in a healthy man of his age.  +sj + 01:15, 5 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Yes, I did follow that avenue when I first read about it, but unfortunately I didn't really understand the Prader-Willi syndrome article :) --kingboyk 01:35, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

Dead link
During several automated bot runs the following external link was found to be unavailable. Please check if the link is in fact down and fix or remove it in that case!


 * http://fletcher.tufts.edu/faculty/rubin/courses/l201/L201_VIIA4_Reefs.doc
 * In Paddy Roy Bates on Mon Jul 17 15:06:03 2006, 404 Object Not Found
 * In Paddy Roy Bates on Thu Jul 27 00:40:42 2006, 404 Object Not Found

maru  (talk)  contribs 04:40, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

Dead link
During several automated bot runs the following external link was found to be unavailable. Please check if the link is in fact down and fix or remove it in that case!


 * http://www.sixtiescity.com/Radio/PirateRadio.htm
 * In Paddy Roy Bates on Mon Jul 17 15:06:05 2006, 404 Not Found
 * In Paddy Roy Bates on Thu Jul 27 00:40:43 2006, 404 Not Found

maru  (talk)  contribs 04:41, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

Citations needed
This is quite a nice start for a biographical article: it covers the notable events in his life succinctly and in a proper tone, and seems to be reasonably comprehensive (for a stub, at least :)). Unfortunately it's lacking citations. --kingboyk 18:53, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

Merge
There is very little information on Bates, and his significance appears to rest solely on Sealand. This article should, I think, be merged. Guy (Help!) 06:44, 11 May 2007 (UTC)
 * There's undoubtedly a case to be made for a merge (it's what we often do in the case of musicians who are notable only for membership of one band, for instance) but on the other hand I think Bates is notable for things other than (but directly related to) Sealand; specifically his involvement in offshore pirate radio and Radio Essex. Radio Essex (pirate) is already a redirect to here, so this is already a collation to an extent. Summary: Not sure :) --kingboyk 11:49, 11 May 2007 (UTC) PS: he's not exactly loaded down with incoming links

Taxes
Does anyone know if there's ever been a problem with the British government taxing this man? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.110.210.139 (talk) 02:58, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

Noble ?
Firstly, he is not technically a noble, he is a royal, being a prince and all - but I can't find the proper stub. Secondly, his ability to issue to himself this title stems from his claim to sovereignty, which is disputed. Frankly we should be neutral is cases such as this and not take side, even if our POV is that this is not legitimate. Outback the Koala (talk) 21:06, 2 April 2010 (UTC)
 * He is none of these things! His country is a sunken concrete barge on a sandbank. There is no need for neutrality where the claim is complete fantasy. I have just pronounced myself King of my Armchair and will now be printing my own money. I will make you a Lord if you like. I hope you will take a neutral view and agree that I might well be a King, although no-one else in the world thinks so. Maidonian (talk) 22:49, 2 April 2010 (UTC)
 * I beg to differ, it would be ignorant to say there is no legal basis for Bates' claim to sovereignty; however I guess I reluctantly must agree that he is generally not defined by a WP:RS as a bona fide royal. Outback the Koala (talk) 23:50, 2 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks. I now pronounce you Lord Koala. Maidonian (talk) 23:59, 2 April 2010 (UTC)
 * lol, thankx... :) Outback the Koala (talk) 00:43, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

Rewrite
I've noticed the dead links to sources and the general lack of citations and have decided to rewrite the article in proper neutral view with relevant citations. I've been researching him for a history class project and have found some pretty good sources (an interview with his own son for example). It will be done in my personal sandbox if anyone cares to check up on it. I'll copy pasta it here when I'm all done. If anyone has comments the can leave them on my own talk page. Thanks. Chris (talk) 00:50, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

Death
Apparently he died 9th October 2012

http://www.sealandgov.org/_blog/Sealand_News/post/Prince_Roy_of_Sealand_aka_Roy_Bates_%28passed_away_9th_October_2012_Obituary%29/ Ace Combat Fanatic (talk) 12:17, 10 October 2012 (UTC)

Book
There is an encounter between the Bates and the author of 'Attention All Shipping: A Journey Round the Shipping Forecast' therein described. Jackiespeel (talk) 20:59, 20 October 2012 (UTC)

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