We have received many messages of condolence for which we are very grateful. Without exception they illustrate the high esteem in which John was held by his friends and colleagues. There is a theme which is repeated almost universally - that his professionalism and leadership qualities were so highly regarded as to be unequalled in the world. These qualities were not confined to the workplace but, as someone remarked, he was always first to lead them into mischief when the occasion justified it. John was born in Shrewsbury in 1956. We were unaware of his running ability until a master at Redditch High School called and told us that John had won the school cross country for his age group. He subsequently joined the local athletic club and ran all over the country. He won the county cross country on successive years and represented the county at the national championship. He did not feature on the podium as the race was won by a bloke named Coe with another called Ovett finishing fourth. He had several other passions in life, sartorial elegance not being one of them, but he was keen on motorbikes (his Triumph Bonneville being a favourite) and music (eclectic taste). Rugby played a big part in his life. After leaving agricultural college he joined Shrewsbury Rugby Club and made many friends and then joined Worcester when he moved there. A colleague of mine also played and told me it was not uncommon, 10 minutes before the match, for a figure in overalls and wellies to come storming in stinking of pig muck. The clothes were flung in a corner and five minutes later a loud voice called “Come on lads, lets give em hell”. He later moved to Banff Rugby Club to discover they were in a parlous state financially. This he quickly rectified, organising money raising events. At the annual dinner he was awarded player of the year. He coached at Nebraska University, and later coached and formed a team in Russia being featured on TV, as the ‘foreign coach’. He was also an avid watcher of the game, visiting all the five nations for internationals, perhaps the highlight being in Dublin for this 50th birthday – a night to remember! I should tell you a little of his holidays - not for John a package holiday. He enjoyed skiing and snowboarding in Europe and America; he went climbing in the Andes, Colorado and Kashmir; he got shot at in Kashmir; toured South America from top to bottom by bus and train. Hong Kong was visited, followed by a 24 hour train journey to Beijing and the Great Wall of China. His last holiday was to New Zealand where he hired a motorbike; watching the cricket and rugby but never found Colin Mead. His career started in Shropshire, which involved pigs despite his avowal to do anything in agriculture but pigs! From there he moved to Worcester with Cotswold Pigs. He then ran a farm in Warwickshire before moving to Banff, co-ordinating pig production in some 20 farms. He spent a year in Ireland before returning to Scotland with a further appointment. He eventually succumbed to entreaties from the United States, managing many farms. The company also had a large organisation in the Philippines that was struggling and he agreed to go. He succeeded in the venture and eventually a buy-out was effected. Finally he agreed to go to Russia. During the 3 years he was there he increased production from 7,500 pigs for slaughter per week to nearly 20,000. He improved production systems and opened many farms. After he finished his contract they wanted him to continue on a consultancy basis. Regretfully this only continued for a few months before he was struck down. During this time he also did some consultancy work with a team of international vets in Yorkshire. Any time he was free he resorted to R & R which consisted of doing any odd jobs for people: chopping trees, building fences, lambing…. John had many friends from all over the world and if you were fortunate enough to be one of them, you would know that you were there for life. But over all others were Pat and Robin Stanley, dating from about the late 60’s and over the years has grown until I’m sure they count him as their son and he counts them as at least his second parents. Just to show you how he thought about people, there are a couple of things that I knew: While in the USA his work took him at one time to work among the Amish. Becoming friendly he was asked by one for Sunday lunch with the proviso that he was to attend church. All the congregation were dressed in traditional black having arrived by horse and trap. John rolled up in a bright yellow tee shirt and stood at the rear of the church. The elder of the church said “You will notice that we have a stranger in our midst, but he is very welcome as all the lawns outside were laid by him in his spare time with goodwill” In the Philippines he bought a small piece of land, erected a breeze block house and pig sties, stocked the sty and provided capital to feed the pigs for one year. He gave this outfit to one of his staff with the instruction to provide education with the profit. When back in this country he received word that they had no money. No problem, he sent more money. His passing will leave a big hole in our lives and the world of pig farming. It makes one angry to realise he still had lots to give. But our thanks go out to the staff of Laurel 3 ward at Worcester Royal Hospital who tried everything known to effect a cure. Our thanks also go out to Helen who has worked tirelessly over recent weeks and months to support John and ourselves.