John focuses on his 100th birthday party
Ex-Post photographer celebrates centenary with family and friends
An adored newspaper photographer celebrated his 100th birthday last week.
‘Centenarian’ can now be added to the colourful life of John Murdoch, of Coylton, who marked his 100th birthday surrounded by loved ones.
John was a fixture at school, club and community events for over 40 years, submitting his images to local papers including the Ayrshire Post.
He is better known as ‘Farmer John’ due to his working life on the family farm at Ochiltree, and also adopted the name of ‘faither’, lovingly thrust upon him by long retired news photographers.
John was passionate about capturing special memories of smiling kids, proud trophy winners and community successes, and only ‘retired’ seven years ago after continuing to snap away into his early nineties.
And with his farming background, he was always in demand to cover Ayrshire’s many agricultural shows, where he was a favourite with generations of young farmers.
Retired Ayrshire Post photographer Euan McCall said: “I think he was still taking pictures for us at the age of 93.
“We thought that he was probably the oldest, or at least one of the oldest, working photographers in Ayrshire.
“When digital came in he would have been in his eighties but this didn’t phase him and he went out
and bought a computer and all the gear so he could e-mail us his pics.
“As he lived all his life on his parent’s farm he would do all the agricultural shows for us and all the show secretaries would make sure that he got a cup of tea or his lunch in the various refreshment tents.”
John was showered with cards and gifts at a garden party at his Coylton home to mark the occasion, including from his three nieces and one nephew who is travelling up from Newcastle to join in the celebrations.
Niece Liz Milroy said: “He still took photos up until he was 92 or 93!
“He still lives at home. He doesn’t get about so much these days but
mentally he’s great.”
South Ayrshire councillors Lee Lyons and Mary Kilpatrick, Deputy Lord Provost, also popped in to present John with a card and a special gift.
John, who always had a fascination for cameras, first got into photography after occasionally filling in for wedding photographer George Crawford, who photographed John and late wife Jean at their wedding in the summer of 1953.
But wedding photography wasn’t his bag and after submitting photos to the Cumnock Chronicle and Ayrshire Post- aged nearly 50- John said he “never looked back.”