It’s now three years since John passed away and words still fail me in describing the devastating loss of my wonderful Husband. John had such a warm and generous heart, with a deep insight and understanding of others situations and struggles. His lovely softly spoken Scottish accent was wonderful to listen to and it soothed the soul of everyone who heard him speak.
John gave so much to those around him and did an enormous amount for the Veteran Community in the UK and Norway. He founded two Community Interest Companies, Aftermath PTSD, which raised awareness of combat related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, from which he also suffered and Art for Heroes, which used art to help provide respite to sufferers.
A lot has happened since John passed, and this year, the Falkland Islands Government commemorated their 40th anniversary of their Liberation on 14th June 2022 with a year long celebration. Which included the Falkland Islands Museum hosting an exhibition of John’s artworks and personal effects such as his uniform, easel and studio shoes. He served in the Falklands War, on HMS Plymouth which had sustained four direct hits from 1000lbs bombs that miraculously didn’t explode. Whilst the ship was on fire and dead in the water, bombers were still firing and all they had were firearms to defend themselves.
It’s a very moving and poignant tribute that John’s art will continue to raise awareness of the hidden costs of war and that he will be forever remembered for all he gave and achieved.
John’s Easel and studio shoes with paintings, Grytvyken 1982 and The Sun Reader
John’s uniform, with paintings Hot Matter and Eden 2 South Atlantic