John Tims 1931 - 2015
Now some sad news for us. Our club co-founder and creator of our ELLESMERE layout, John Tims, passed away on the evening of Friday 23rd February 2015 after a cruelly debilitating illness.
Born in January 1931, John originally trained as a dental technician, working in a dingy cellar below a dental practice opposite the old Cambrian railway station in Oswestry. His love of music made him take up drumming for local bands like the George Riley Orchestra (see photos above) during the Big Band era for extra money. He even played on stage with Victor Sylvester, Joe Loss and Jack Parnell, and a recording still exists on a Peter Gabrielle album amongst a few others.
A passionate wildlife sound recordist and photographer, John was to eventually put these skills to good use. The fumes and dust from the dental practice and smoking eventually caused emphysema and John decided to retrain as a science teacher, eventually working at Ellesmere Secondary School (now Lakelands Academy). He continued drumming and became more involved in local amateur dramatics, carrying on in his parents tradition.
His love of the local railways, recordings and photography helped him to capture the last days of steam in the area, and John became involved in the early days of the heritage movement at both Oswestry and Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway. He also wanted to preserve something of his local area, so started his labor of love in recording and cataloging the station buildings and yards to eventually constructing his N gauge layout of ELLESMERE once he retired from teaching.
We first met when I moved to Ellesmere in 1998 to begin working at the Dapol Exhibition in Llangollen (sadly now closed) and instantly became friends; because of our love of photography, models and railways, we immediately formed the Group of Ellesmere Modellers which eventually evolved into the club as it is now.
A prolific modeller, John will be sadly missed, not only by his friends and the many ex-pupils around the Ellesmere and Oswestry area, and of course ourselves, but also by his son Paul, to whom we send our sincere heartfelt condolences.
Rest in piece, my dear friend.
David
Now some sad news for us. Our club co-founder and creator of our ELLESMERE layout, John Tims, passed away on the evening of Friday 23rd February 2015 after a cruelly debilitating illness.
Born in January 1931, John originally trained as a dental technician, working in a dingy cellar below a dental practice opposite the old Cambrian railway station in Oswestry. His love of music made him take up drumming for local bands like the George Riley Orchestra (see photos above) during the Big Band era for extra money. He even played on stage with Victor Sylvester, Joe Loss and Jack Parnell, and a recording still exists on a Peter Gabrielle album amongst a few others.
A passionate wildlife sound recordist and photographer, John was to eventually put these skills to good use. The fumes and dust from the dental practice and smoking eventually caused emphysema and John decided to retrain as a science teacher, eventually working at Ellesmere Secondary School (now Lakelands Academy). He continued drumming and became more involved in local amateur dramatics, carrying on in his parents tradition.
His love of the local railways, recordings and photography helped him to capture the last days of steam in the area, and John became involved in the early days of the heritage movement at both Oswestry and Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway. He also wanted to preserve something of his local area, so started his labor of love in recording and cataloging the station buildings and yards to eventually constructing his N gauge layout of ELLESMERE once he retired from teaching.
We first met when I moved to Ellesmere in 1998 to begin working at the Dapol Exhibition in Llangollen (sadly now closed) and instantly became friends; because of our love of photography, models and railways, we immediately formed the Group of Ellesmere Modellers which eventually evolved into the club as it is now.
A prolific modeller, John will be sadly missed, not only by his friends and the many ex-pupils around the Ellesmere and Oswestry area, and of course ourselves, but also by his son Paul, to whom we send our sincere heartfelt condolences.
Rest in piece, my dear friend.
David