John was Cumbria’s strongest player for as long as I have known him - nearly 50 years! Some of his many achievements are:
Cumbria Champion six times; leading Windermere Chess Club to a record nine successive County titles in the seventies and latterly to ten titles in the last twelve years;club champion many many times; league and club president; County captain for both over the board and correspondence for a number of years. John was also a very strong correspondence player as is mentioned above by Tim Harding.As you see the list is long. Apologies for what I have forgotten.
John and I were playing our fortieth game against each other in the internal club competition on Tuesday 21st when he took ill. Not surprisingly he was winning, having cannily, played as white a line I had told him recently I struggled against! I offered him a draw in the ambulance, but naturally he refused! So he left with a big smile on his face

RIP