I first met John in the summer of 1972 whilst we were both working for Hilton's Builders in Haywards Heath. We formed a strong friendship immediately and he was with me when I bought my first car, an Austin A40 for ten pounds. He insisted on spraying the bonnet matte black because he said it would go faster!! I then bought a Lambretta Scooter from him , although his dad told us off for discussing this business transaction on the Lords Day!We spent many hours debating the Calvinistic interpretation of predestination and as many hours extolling the fighting capabilities of Bruce Lee!! The two obviously go hand in hand! Whenever we talked about whether a certain local hardnut could defeat John in a "scrap" his reply was always the same- "He'll have to be a bit rapid!". It may seem to us that the way John departed this life was " a bit rapid" but he is now with his precious Saviour and what a welcome he will have received. He was a larger than life character who is now more alive than he ever was. We do not grieve like those who have no hope for we know that this parting is only temporary.We will meet again and we can spend eternity discussing whether John could really have defeated Bruce Lee in a fair fight!! Until then it's au revoir mate and thanks for all the memories of a life well lived.

 Martin Whitehead