We went through the Police Training School about the same time (1979) and over the years I had the pleasure of bumping into John again and again. We did intermediate Cantonese together in the mid-80s and myself, Rick Griffin (retired Superintendent) and a few others took the mickey out of John because he was so bad with the language. Don't get me wrong, he always tried his hardest and in the end he passed, but I can never forget how funny it was when he would be asked a question and one of us would invariably give him the wrong prompt.

Towards the end he didn't trust any of us, which I believe may have helped him pass the course.

Then there was the hockey which I attempted to play for about three years and, once again, there was John. He was a fantastic bloke to be with and an honest, upholding sportsman. We shared many a yarn about who missed the ball more and ultimately who would be the outcast at the end of the game. Then there was Sha Tau Kok, 1993. John was the Divisional Commander and I was Yankee Company second-in-command based on the border. We crossed each other's paths again and I remember vividly spending a few hours with him at his mess one evening. I will always remember how welcome he made me feel.

Then there was the Police Tactical Unit. If memory serves me correctly, John finally made it to PTU as a second-in-command in 1996 (he had tried to get a posting there several times). By this time, I was one of the chief instructors (Team Two) in what was to be my final posting before retirement. He approached it with great enthusiasm and was always the ultimate gentleman but still carried the dodgy Cantonese, despite all his years as a New Territories man.

I have no idea what took this wonderful bloke from his family, those of us in general and the Hong Kong Police. He will be greatly missed, I'm sure, and impossible to replace. My sincere condolences to his family.

Ian McPherson
Retired Chief Inspector
Australia






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