William John Whitlock 1934 to 2022 All those who knew John Whitlock will remember him as a very humane gentleman. He was kind, approachable, good company and with a twinkle in his eye, willing to discuss any subject with you, including local history, sports, photography and travel. John was always ready to give his time and attention to his family and all those around him. He could relate to anyone, talking just as happily to younger people as to his own age group and older generations. John was often to be seen in Woodstock driving his powered scooter. I recall him helping our daughter Jenny when her powered wheelchair stalled in the middle of the Oxford Street crossing and was blocking the traffic. John was passing at the time and managed to get her and her chair to safety!John was born on 18 November 1934 into a farming family in Woodstock. His father, Fred Whitlock, had his dairy farm at Barn Piece in Old Woodstock and produced milk for his milk round, always in glass pint bottles printed with the farm’s name and address. During the war he was required to take the address off the bottles in case they fell into the hands of an enemy spy! John’s mother, Winnie, was the most smartly dressed woman in Woodstock. Fred met Winnie at Young Farmers, married her and together they set up a milk bar in Oxford Street to complement the farm. The milk bar was Winnie’s pride and joy, decorated in the latest style, with shining fixtures and fittings, a clean black-and-white tiled floor and the best milk shakes and ice cream during and after the war. John used to help in the milk bar as well as at the farm. John’s first school was just doors from his home, Miss Ward’s School, a small dame school for 3- to 11-year-olds, in a wooden hut behind the Methodist Church in Oxford Street; Miss Ward was the daughter of our local registrar. She had probably just finished teacher training but she looked very grown-up to us children but she was probably just in her 20s. In his early years John contracted polio (quite prevalent in those days) and this left him with a permanent limp. This had no obvious effect on his love of sports or his later military service. It was during the 1930s that young John joined the Woodstock Borough Council, properly dressed and robed for the occasion and photographed with all the other ‘junior’ councillors. Miss Ward had kitted out the pupils in robes and hats and they look very impressive in their group photograph. All the girls and boys were taught in one large room, younger ones on the right of the room, seniors on the left, with a small tortoise stove for heating in the middle. Miss Ward had a reputation for getting her students to good schools, many gaining scholarships or assisted places. John went to Magdalen College School in Oxford as a day boy at the age of 10 in 1944. After leaving there in 1952 he did his National Service in the Army as an engineer, and played a good deal of sports, including rugby and skiing.
On demob John returned to the family farm and milk bar business and joined the local Young Farmers Club, which was where he met Barbara, his wife. They married in 1959 and had three daughters: Amanda, Sara and Susan. John acquired 17 High Street, now the Opticians, and set up a shop selling toys. He used to keep birds behind the property, having many aviaries both at No 17 and also at No 19. He was a Freemason in Woodstock, a connection he kept for 65 years, being Worshipful Master of his Lodge at the age of 31. He was elected to the Town Council and became Deputy Mayor in 1976, but was unable to be Mayor as he moved to New Yatt the following year. His father had been Mayor of Woodstock and was an alderman when the Queen visited Woodstock.
John and Barbara moved to a farm in New Yatt in 1977. He loved clay-pigeon shooting and he and his mates formed a Sunday morning clay-pigeon shoot. Needless to say, afterwards they all retired to the Sadlers’ Arms in New Yatt to discuss the morning, and often John would get a very frosty reception from Barbara when he was very late coming home for lunch. Later they moved to Thrupp to live next to family, then to Chadlington, before returning to Woodstock to a third floorretirement apartment overlooking the water meadows.
John’s business interests expanded. The family had a car repair shop and a Morris Motors concession in Oxford Street opposite the GWR station, and Fred Young served petrol from a hand-wound-up petrol pump from his house on the corner of the station forecourt. The Youngs were friends of Lord Nuffield and they used to go out on sporting parties together. When the railway station became redundant Youngs Garages bought the station and the railway embankments and redeveloped their motor business in and behind the station yard. John joined the business becoming a company director, and was in charge of sales and marketing.
John always had time for other activities. He was a member of the Magic Circle, doing magic tricks when in the Army, and was very interested in puppetry. With other enthusiasts he started the Woodstock Video Club, making many local films of events such as the Wychwood Fayre, the
Carnivals, the Parish Church reconfiguration, and also made country features such as those about the Oxford Canal and the local stone quarries. He later formed the Drone Club using new camera-mounted drones and was given permission to fly over Blenheim to record the development of the Park and the dredging of the Queen Pool (the last project is ongoing). John converted some of Dr Tothill’s old 16mm movie films, taken between 1935 and 1960, into short displays, including the Blenheim pageant in the 1930s, the laying of the Marlborough School foundation stone in 1939 and the last days of the ‘Fair Rosamund’ railway line. He also took an active interest in the ‘Make a Wish’ organisation, helping to give special outings to children with life-limiting conditions.
John was a member of the Woodstock Swimming Pool fund, raising money in the five years before 1970 by operating the weekly draw. He was also to be seen in all the annual Carnival weeks and Woodstock Carnival parades. John was able to join BBC photographers on an African safari to capture wild life close-up photographs, an achievement which gave him much pleasure and which he recalled a lot in his final days. He was an active member of the Woodstock Probus Club, joining in 1999 and becoming President in 2006/7.
John’s wife Barbara died on 15 November 2020 after a long fight against Parkinson’s disease. John had looked after her with loving care for almost 15 years. He was diagnosed with a serious heart condition following a research trial under the NHS. Donations today will go to the work of the Oxford Hospitals Cardiac unit. The family are so grateful for the care and kindness given John in his last weeks by an army of dedicated carers, without which they would not have been able to manage.
Having attended Magdalen College School John became a regular attendee at the Old Waynflete events, and enjoyed the company of his old school mates. His last visit there was only two weeks before he died on 22 November 2022, but he had been looking forward to the event for some time and was so pleased to be able to go.
John lived a full and useful life, and had numerous friends and acquaintances. When someone like John dies, a little light goes out. John Banbury. December 2022 Photo: John and Barba