Garth Tucker 1/3/2024
It is ironic as I’ve just posted a photo of John at work to be told by Caroline his daughter that he died last week.
We met on Jim Atkinson’s crew back in the 60s when Dolly Op 2s and became almost symbiotically joined. John was great company and an extremely talented cameraman. I loved working with him.
I will miss him greatly.
Graham Maunder
This is really sad news.
John was on crew 13 when I joined it and was a huge help to me in my early days at TVC (and not just with the camerawork!).
David Plaice
Sorry to hear this news Garth. I have happy memories of working with John when I joined Crew 1 as a trainee and he was your deputy. He was always friendly, helpful and unflustered.
One production which stands out for me is Roller Disco (as Stars of the Roller State Disco was known to us) with John operating an Ikegami being tracked by Jeff Naylor as roller skating teenagers rushed past him.
Many years later John got a DVD copy of a VHS recording of it for me (and these days it’s available on Blu- ray).
Jeff Naylor
So sorry to hear that Garth. I really liked and respected John as a person, and as you say, his talent shone through. I wasn’t really tracking him on that Roller State disco David, just minding him and carrying the VPR5, and I got to see him work very closely. It was also brilliant to work with him on Eldorado.
Dave Plowman
Yes – terribly sad. I worked with John long after leaving the BBC – on a CH5 soap called Family Affairs. Perhaps not in the EastEnders class – but a happy show to work on.
John Vincent
My early days on crew 5 (Jim Atkinson) were spent cable bashing.
One day I was crewed to track the Mole. Rod Taylor was at the front and John Dailley was swinging. John took me under his wing and it all went rather well.
The next couple of years we worked on 3 or 5 day plays nearly every week as the same team. We could throw the Mole around like a ped. Classic drama with top names. Magic times.
I’d get the odd nod of appreciation from John, Rod, Garth, and Geoff (Clarke). That meant far more to me than the bolllockings I got from Jim. It taught me an early lesson that you could motivate people more if you were kind to them!
Geoff Fletcher
John at Wood Norton on TO19 back in June 1964. RIP old friend.
Losing both Bill Jenkin and John in the same week was a painful shock to all of us who had the pleasure of knowing and working with them.
Tony Grant
Such a large hole left in our dwindling group of tech ops friends, having myself been on TO19 alongside John. With so many of us now spread around the length and breadth of the UK, the tech ops list has become similar to the times some of us meet up in person at a funeral service, and it’s encouraging at least to find familiar names on this list of friends who are still, as a friend of mine in Caernarfon is wont to say when asked how he is ‘upright and above ground’.
RIP both John and Bill, a great delight and privilege to work alongside people such as yourselves with immense personality and talent that helped the rest of us push ourselves in an effort to attain the same standards.
Peter Hider
John and I were really close for many years on Crew 5 and we mutually watched our families grow. His work ethic was amazing and his charm and humour were matchless. I shall miss him enormously.
I’ve attached a couple of photos I took of John at a Disorganised in 2009 at the Cricketers.
John Barlow
Surely is one of the “Greats” from the heydays of TVC. His personality made him a friend and favourite for all that knew him and add in his technical expertise this made him one of the most in-demand Camera Supervisors. Astute, innovative and wonderful to work with he, like Stuart and Bill, will be missed and it all feels like the end of an era.
