We are sorry to report that John Humphris died on 28 March 2024. He was a long time ringer at Easebourne, and a member of the Association for many years. With advancing age he was finding standing more and more difficult, and coming back after the pandemic break was just too much for him. He was 87 when he died.

What most ringers won’t know was that he was the holder of a Royal Horticultural Society Victoria Medal of Honour. At any one time there are only 63 such medal holders (the number of years of Queen Victoria’s reign) so holding one is an exceptional honour for a gardener. His was awarded in 2009. To put this into perspective, four were awarded in 2009 the other three being awarded to Charles Baring, 2nd Baron Howick of Glendale, Lady Christine Skelmersdale and Prince Charles. He was a professional gardener for much of his life, his last professional job being Head Gardener at Borde Hill. He was President of The Guild of Professional Gardeners, he was on at least one RHS committee, he was very active in encouraging young entrants into the profession by using his extensive connections to arrange training placements, and he was a longtime supporter and judge for the prison gardens competition run by the RHS. All that and he was a really nice and modest person.

Funeral details to follow.

Nigel Goodenough