John Russell - BEM

Byfield Parish Council was saddened to hear of the death on Sunday 9 June 2024 of John Russell. John was born in Byfield in 1936 and lived his entire life in the village apart from his last few months at the Chacombe Park nursing home. His family ran a general store at the junction of Bell Lane and Banbury Lane which supplied many of the daily needs of folks in Byfield and the surrounding villages. John did National Service in the RAF and then used his training in motor mechanics with several local companies before he joined the Ministry of Transport, eventually becoming the Station Manager at Weedon carrying out MOTs for buses, HGVs and many thousands of motorcars.

Outside of work, John was involved with the village all of his life: goal keeper for Byfield Athletic, President of Byfield Cricket Club (although he never played the game), Chairman of the Byfield branch of the Royal British Legion and its annual Poppy Appeal organiser for many years, a leading light on the Village Hall Committee, and a Parish Councillor for 31 years including a remarkable 24 years as chairman. But the thing that will be regarded as perhaps the most significant and long-lasting achievement in his life is the Brightwell Recreation Ground. John was instrumental in raising money, buying the land extending the original recreation ground, organising the work and developing the fantastic facilities that we have in our village today. John served as an independent on Daventry District Council and was the only person to have the honour of being invited to serve as Leader of the Council for two years rather than the normal tenure of just one year. For all of this he was awarded the British Empire Medal in 1990.

His book, Discovering Byfield, although not necessarily an easy read, is nevertheless a fascinating history of the village that will be a source of information for decades to come. John was married to Jill for 64 years, she died in 2022 and he will be buried with her on Tuesday 25 June following his funeral at Holy Cross Church at noon. They did not have any children.