RIP - John Dowdeswell (SCH, 41-46)

John Dowdeswell: School House, 1941 - 1946

Born 2nd November 1931 - Died 17th January 2023

Born in Braunton Devon, a small boy named John arrived into the world to a young Welsh couple Jack and Doreen, little did they know the future this boy would have. With the clouds of war gathering this young family moved and worked around the country and by the time John was 7, they were based in Scotland. Where the three of them enjoyed their first caravan holiday.  At the age of 11 they were back in Wales. Jack was working away and country now at war, John was sent to Christ College, in Brecon. Where he met his lifelong friend Alan H Snape (HOSTEL, 42-46), a friendship which he treasured.

His sister Jennifer arrived the following year. At this point they’d moved to Lavington Road in Ealing to be closer to the Dowdeswell brothers. Money was tight, so the house was shared with Jacks brother Frank, his wife Hilda and their daughter Rosemarie. John had left Brecon to finish his schooling at Ealing Grammer.  He wasn’t academic by any means, but he did just enough to get by …. the school could see that he was a great rugby player and the PE master made sure that he continued to play right up to county level.

On leaving school he started training to be a draughtsman. His social life centred around the YMCA, where he met a new set of friends Don, Jerry, Roy, and Alan and Mike. They were all determined to see something of the world.  The first trip was hitch-hiking to Ireland –until finally in early 1951 with Mike Barrett the pair planned a hitch-hiking trip across Europe to India.  They made it as far as Athens, where the goal was to gather all the necessary paperwork for the next phase of the trip – this proved difficult because of the ongoing disruptions in what was then Persia.  But as luck would have it Jack’s sister Wena was working in the city. Through her connections, plans were hastily rearranged. John and Mike got a passage west on the SS Battle Creek Victory bound for Galveston Texas.  From there, John and Mike would split up to hitchhike across the country, rendezvousing to work wherever they could in small towns staying in Youth hostels. The goal being to raise enough money to carry on to their final destination …. New York City in December. They made it to Manhattan where John managed to get a Christmas job in Macy’s during the day and work in a diner in the evening.

The trip was life changing for them both. John loved the US so much that he started the process of getting sponsorship to emigrate. On telling his parents this news, his Father wrote a tender letter encouraging him to come home before making that decision. So, the trans-Atlantic ticket was booked (for £59). He crossed on the Queen Elizabeth and the first thing he did once on board ….. was to get a haircut.

Once home, national service in the RAF was waiting for him.  And whilst he had heard tales of his friends spending hours square-bashing, he was assigned to become a Signaller on a noisy Shackleton, designed for recon missions. Based out of Ha’penny Green and then Ballykelly, in Northern Ireland. He flew operations on the North Atlantic run over Norway.  During this time, his pre-war very un-luxurious Morgan 3-wheeler followed him around from base to base. Once his RAF days had come to an end it was back to life in Ealing. There were endless Morgan restoration sessions with his YMCA friends. They each had a Morgan and made sure everyone had one in running order. But it was a crash in this very Morgan 3 wheeler, that would later trigger a business idea which would change his life forever. 

That summer he took a train to Italy where he met another young traveller, Rosemary, who coincidentally was also from Ealing. They exchanged numbers and John continued on his way.  They married at St Thomas’s Church in Hanwell in September 58. Don was the photographer, Roy his best man and the honeymoon was a road trip to Venice in his father’s (new) Morris Minor – that was deemed more suitable than a Morgan.  There was no hanging around as Jane arrived 9 months later.  Back at the day job, sales were going well in W1, so much so that promotion to assistant regional manager of the north west, based out of Liverpool. Ian was born in March 62 and the Dowdeswell family was complete.

The next move was as manager of the Leeds branch. The family spent 4 chilly years here. John was dedicated to his job and very well respected within – which lead to a further move – this time as general manager of Ireland.  Dublin was balmy after chilly Leeds – these were the Eurovision years. The place was hopping. The whole family loved living in Ireland, where everyone came from somewhere else, children played safely in the street and on long summer evenings they would head down to the harbour to go boating. 

Irish holidays were on a beach in West Cork. The family caravan was powered by a big tractor battery. This ran the portable black and white TV with the aerial strapped to a dingy mast. John saw how much West Cork meant to his family. The beauty of the land, the friendships made and the great food. He was introduced to a local farmer who sold him an acre of land on the coast and so set about building a holiday home. That was 55 years ago, long lasting friendships were created and remain to this day.

Whilst in Dublin, John, with Rosemary’s support, started focusing on the idea which began all the way back in the 50’s when he crashed the Morgan.  He had written and she had typed their first workshop manual on the 3 wheeler.  He joined up with his RAF friend Peter Hart to print and distribute the simple books, that he had collated from motoring magazine articles. And with Peters help, Brooklands Books and R.M. Clarke were formed. Later Brooklands would become a household name in the classic car industry.

John and Rosemary returned to London in ’74 - This time to their forever home in Northwood - John did his day job as before and in ’78, he was promoted to regional manager of Asia. This meant a move to Hong Kong. A very different living and working experience. But it did give him the chance to find a Hong Kong based printer which moved Brooklands up a notch. John had always embraced moving around, but Rosemary struggled with being so far away from Jane and Ian who were back in the UK. After an aborted move to Singapore and a couple of health issues, they headed back – this time for good. John had worked for Gestetner for 25 years and at 48, had decided to focus his time to develop Brooklands Books.

With the production and growth of Brooklands Books, more hands were required. Ian joined the company in ‘82 and Jane followed in ’84. The demand for classic car literature was soaring and everything took off!  John could see the importance of the American market and used this opportunity to meet old friends at the Hershey Swap-meet. This became a regular venture and he loved the enthusiasm towards his products.

John and Rosemary continued to travel – John more so with business trips and he loved seeing the world and making memories along the way. There were over 40 trips with their oldest friends Don and Jean. Some great times in wonderful places including South Africa, France, USA and their old favourite Crookhaven which they visited many times together.

John started stepping back a bit from Brooklands but he could never really let go. There was always an idea, or a thought, which he felt, may be worth exploring.

His last summer in Crookhaven in 2022 was an important one for him. He had a list of everything that he associated with Crookhaven almost as if he knew it could be the last time. Crab sandwiches in O’Sullivans, coffee’s with old friends, a drive around the old roads, one last fishing trip, one last goodbye and great Crook weather to boot. Over 50 years of love that’ll continue through us.

Family was everything to John, he laughed every  .. single .. day – even in the last days he still managed to find something to smile about.