At his peak in the sixties he was a fine fast bowler who bustled in, legs and arms pumping to give it his all. He was the first Shipley bowler to record a 10 wicket haul, that against our keen rivals , Belper Meadows. After I took over the captaincy of the 1st XI in 62' John was always the first to be handed the ball and you would know he would be giving 101% each and every ball. He was an absolute joy for a captain. I well recall a match against British Rail in 65 when he had quickly dismissed the first 5. But there was a problem. for his lovely wife Merrill was in Derby Hospital giving birth to a son. John had promised to be at her bedside for the birth expected around 4 o'clock. and he had been cajoled to play on the understanding that he would be able to leave at any time. 3.30 came around with his 5th wicket in the bag and it left me begging him to bowl one more, one more and again one more. That was it, and having added one more wicket to his tally he drove the short distance to the hospital ,arriving just 20 minutes before Steve appeared on the scene. Shame really-he could have bowled 2 more----- but at least we won the game !!
As his legs started to trouble him in the early 70's he dropped into the 2nds and morphed into an opening bat who used his strength to bludgeon the ball away to all corners. Not the prettiest or aesthetically pleasing but none the less effective. He was also a popular captain of the two's'
When he stopped playing cricket he would make frequent journey's to watch sons Steve and Rob in action and also his grandson Michael. We had many a chat about days of yore. It was such a tragic shame that dementia slowly crept up on him but he bore this with as much good grace as he could summon up.
His soccer prowess extended from being a bustling centre forward to a centre back through which not many passed. You can imagine a dainty right winger dribbling towards John and being unceremoniously dumped !!
Shipley have lost a lovely man and grand servant for the club - I have lost a friend
