Extraordinary LIVES
JOHN was 18 and I was 16 when we met at Heaton Ballroom in Newcastle. I pretended I was working when, in fact, I was still at school. We courted off and on for five years. John was a determined suitor, though it was me who finally popped the question. We married in 1961 and our son Neil was born in 1963. John was from a modest working-class family and when he unexpectedly passed the 11-plus, he attended Tynemouth Grammar. He left with only two O-levels, learning early on about having to do things the hard way. It stood him in good stead when he had to deal with life’s setbacks. After an engineering apprenticeship and HNC at night school, he became a top draughtsman for British Paints, which later merged with Berger. In 1969, his first foreign posting was as general manager in Barbados. Our daughter, Joanne,
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was born that year. His next posting was to Idi Amin’s Uganda in 1972, which he described as ‘like moving from heaven to hell’. The children and I were sent back home for our safety. To escape what was a terrifying place and to be reunited with his family, John opted for demotion to a regional sales job in the South-East. Despite this professional setback, he worked his way back up to become Middle East export manager and then general manager in Bahrain from 1981 to 1985. He was made redundant due to a restructuring, but Berger came calling again in 1990. John was posted to Hong Kong, where we stayed until his retirement in 1997. John was liked wherever he went. He was a sociable, gregarious people person and a natural man manager. He was also active in charitable work for the Round Table, 41 Club and Geordie Society. John loved travel, reading, music and technology, producing a library of family movies. He was devoted to his two grandsons, Franklin and Teddy. John grabbed life’s opportunities, but was always grounded by his love of family. He died five days into the first national lockdown and we miss him very much. ■ JOHN WILSON, born February 26, 1938; died march 28, 2020, aged 82.