Memories of John in the Winchester District from his Scouting friends.
John was active in the Winchester District of the Scouts (formerly the Boy Scouts Association) for over 75 years.
Like dinosaurs, there aren’t many left who had the privilege of joining and sharing times with John. During his period of office as the DC he invested many new leaders and presented many awards including Wood Beads. Never a man to say No he supported everyone. He was a true disciple of inclusion and diversity.
John began his Scouting life on the 19th November 1946 as a wolf cub with the 12th Winchester (Green Jackets). He was with the pack for four years, finishing as senior sixer. He moved up to the scout troop and earned his first class badge which was presented to him on 29th June 1953.
On St. George’s Day in 1958, John was presented with his first leader’s warrant as an assistant cub master with the 10th Winchester (St. Thomas and St Michael). His record shows him being District Commissioner twice, Assistant District Commissioner, Group Scout Leader, various leader and committee roles and Assistant County Commissioner for the Scout Fellowship. He chaired the joint council for the Fellowship and Trefoil Guild, and represented the UK at Aalborg in Norway in a 43 nation gathering. His last leader role was with the 3rd Winchester (The Worthies) beavers, where he restarted the colony in 1997 until he retired at 65. Then they removed the retirement age and he came back for another nine years. Even then he moved on to the Group Executive Committee and more recently he served on the District Executive Committee and was Vice-President of the District.
Throughout his 64¾ year as an adult in Scouting John has always approached his Scouting with enthusiasm and fun. We can’t remember John without his singing. John was a superb campfire leader, his enthusiasm gathered groups together; his repertoire was endless; he never forgot the words and could produce a song for any subject, always rolling his ‘r’s. He had a beautiful voice which could reduce people to tears when joining him to sing Kum-bah-Yah. Many friends will have memories of joining or watching John during a Gang Show, a true professional he never forgot a word or a step, again supporting others whose memory was less proficient. He had a wicked sense of humour that was demonstrated vividly at the last Gang Show in Winchester when a skit was produced and a monologue was spoken called Eros, the supporting cast had to stand behind Eros retaining straight faces, the monologue was so hilarious that even John struggled to contain himself.
John was always willing to mentor new leaders. When he was asked, at his last official presentation only last summer, what his thoughts were on scouting in 2022 his response was that:
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He attempted to keep abreast with current practice;
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Shared that the philosophy hadn’t changed; and
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He could still quote the Values of Integrity, Respect, Care, Belief, Co-operation.
We believe that our friend John lived by these values and has now gone home to sing with a different choir.