John was born into a mining family in 1944 at Esh Winning, the youngest of three boys and the only one not to work for the NCB.
John attended Esh Winning Infants and Junior School, then Waterhouses Secondary Modern School. After leaving school, John embarked on a journey in further education: one year full-time on a preparatory technical course at Bishop Auckland Technical College, followed by five years studying electrical and electronic engineering — three years at Durham Technical College and finally two years at Sunderland Technical College.
After leaving Bishop Auckland, John was employed at a small TV rental company, which ceased trading after a few months. That prompted him to find a proper apprenticeship, and after a short search, John was informed by the Youth Employment Office in Durham of a vacancy based in the city. In September 1961, John began his apprenticeship with Telephone Rentals Ltd in Newcastle upon Tyne.
That was the start of forty years of service. The first twenty were spent looking after telephone, clock, PA and fire alarm systems in commercial and government premises. The 1980s brought the biggest change: the liberalisation of the telecoms industry, which allowed companies other than British Telecom to enter the market. One of these was Mercury Communications, a Cable and Wireless company, which acquired Telephone Rentals for its large customer base. They soon sold off the non-core parts of the business, retaining only the telecoms side along with a number of engineers — himself among them. Further changes came in the form of GEC, Plessey, and finally Siemens, with whom John received his forty-year service award and a bronze medal the size of a small dinner plate. In November 2001, John “retired” through voluntary redundancy.
John met his wife, while travelling to work in Spennymoor. John was on a short placement at Smart and Brown’s, and she worked at Remploy, another factory on the trading estate. They married in 1969 and have one daughter, three grandsons, and one great-grandson. They have lived in the same house on Newton Hall throughout our married life.
From a fairly early age John developed a love of game fishing in the local rivers, though due to eye problems he hung up his gear a couple of years ago. In the late 1980s John took up photography and joined Durham Photographic Society, where he has served as both President and Programme Secretary. In 2009 John set up a club blog, and after ten years it was incorporated into the club’s new website, which John managed until the end of 2023 when the club decided to build a fresh one.
After trying many genres, John settled on three areas of focus. The first was the police mini moto club, of which two of his grandsons were members. The second began in 1999, when he was granted permission to photograph inside Durham Cathedral — initially documenting the works department and their role in maintaining the building, which over the years naturally extended to covering services. The third is the DLI/Rifles, whose local events John has photographed extensively.
In 2023 he received an invitation from the Lord Lieutenant’s Office, and in 2024 another from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to attend The Royal Garden Party — both in recognition of outstanding services to the community in Durham.