He was of course best known for his playing career at Sutton United and it would be wrong of me to do a full tribute here as this should be left to the Sutton United fans down the road, where he spent most of his career.

In fact it is hard to find anyone comparable in our history that could match his achievements while playing for our local rivals. There were at least 600 appearances and a hatful of trophies, not to mention leading them out at Wembley for the 1981 F.A.Trophy Final.

John joined Epsom in early 1987 under our Manager Ricky Kidd. Obviously well connected to Kidd from Sutton, John played for a while and then became Assistant Manager before departing for Worthing in 1988. He had spells in Management at various places, one of which was at Molesey, where he was Manager to our own Lyndon Buckwell.

In recent years he was occasionally to be found at the Moatside when his son Matt occasionally played for us. I always found him a pleasant chap, and I can relate to the loyalty he showed to his club of choice.

The non-league world will be poorer for his absence.

The picture I have dug out is a typical one showing him holding a trophy. In this case the 1983 Isthmian League (Hitachi) Cup after being presented it by League Chairman Alan Turvey.