John was a wonderful teacher.  He would make time to give feedback to every student he taught - by creating such moments he was well ahead of his time.  He had phenominal knowledge of his subjects and genuinely cared about getting his message across to his students.  John was the driving force behind the school chess club and promoting competition chess. I can see him now surrounded by time clocks and chess boards, issuing instructions and encouraging all those around him- there was a real buzz in the room. He could manually put together a whole school timetable - a daunting task even for those with computer programmes to help.  John was generous with his time when he had it and developed an ability to finish a conversation while walking backwards to his next appointment.  John was the quintessential gentleman and scholar.  From all the countless students and teachers whom he helped - thank you John.