John Anthony Turnbull (1948-2024) (F 62-65).

David Rowlands (G 62-66) has supplied the following notice:

“This is going to be very difficult to put into words because I want to celebrate John’s life but I also have to record the many misfortunes which he endured with great courage.

In 1957, at the age of eight, John and I were sent to board at Lime House School in Cumbria. His father was in the British Army stationed in Germany. In our second term there, the Headmaster announced at morning prayers the tragic news that John’s mother had died. For a nine year old boy, already adjusting to life in a boarding school, this was an unimaginable hardship.

In 1962 John and I moved on to St Bees, which offered a new regime filled with opportunities to learn, engage in sports, join the CCF, and make lasting friendships. I know that John had very fond memories of our school. He particularly liked metalwork lessons under the guidance of Mr Broadhurst. His skill in making and mending things stayed with him throughout his life, alongside his love for model railways and Meccano, a passion he maintained well into adulthood.

After leaving school in 1965, John worked as a draughtsman at AEC, the lorry and bus manufacturers in West London. He had many friends at work and in various clubs, including a rowing club, a rugby club, and the Meccano Society. These years were filled with the joys of independence, good neighbours and home ownership, as he worked on his house and embraced the pleasures of life.

In 1996 however, life took a devastating turn when John was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a condition that would affect him for the rest of his days. MS is a cruel and unpredictable disease, and John faced its challenges with unwavering determination. In November 2008, he married his neighbour Joan who was herself battling brain cancer. Sadly, she passed away a month after their wedding. A year before John married, I had retired to Cumbria, so I rather lost contact with him for a while.

In 2015, I heard the news that St Bees School was closing! Unbelievable! I urged John to join me at what should have been the final OSB Weekend. Despite his MS, he insisted on driving the 305 miles from London to Penrith, determined to make the journey and be part of the final day. This proved to be his last opportunity to visit St Bees.

On July 16th 2016, at the age of 68, John’s life tragically changed. While doing some DIY work upstairs at home, he fell from his ladder and ended up on the ground floor with his legs tangled up in the ladder. He could not extricate himself and lay there struggling for three days before being rescued. He was rushed into Ealing Hospital where he was treated for dehydration and lacerations to his legs. He very nearly died. John remained in Ealing Hospital for about three months and was then discharged to a succession of care homes for the next nine, repeat, nine years! All he wanted was to go home and resurrect the life he enjoyed before the accident.

Gradually, during the care home years, the MS was clearly taking its toll both physically and mentally. For a while John was convinced that with a little bit of physiotherapy he could walk again. If he could walk to the gate of the care home, he could hail a taxi and get home! That was all he wanted, to get home. What was pitiful to hear, was that whenever he talked about his home, the home that he had not seen for so many years, he could remember every detail of every room and where, and in which drawer of which piece of furniture, any of his belongings could be found.

John endured a mixture of pain, anger, frustration and many challenges from being confined to bed, literally 24 hours a day. His deep desire to go home never waned. His final years, although filled with hardship, showed us the depth of his strong will and resilience.

Rest in peace John.”

 

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