Fr John was born in Yorkshire and has had a varied career from Mining to Environment Health. He won an award for his outstanding community work and working with young people in Wakefield. His last ministry was as the priest to the HELM group of churches near Consett. He is married to Maureen and has two adult sons, Luke and Matthew. He enjoys most sports, Rugby, football, motorbike racing and has followed MotoGP in Europe. He enjoys fly fishing sailing and kayaking too.