Remembering Johnians

Sadly I have to inform you of the passing of Keith Batchelor (Combined Arts,1969-72) on 8 December 2024, aged 74, following a few years’ of illness. After graduating from St John’s, Keith returned to his hometown of Birmingham as a trainee social worker before pursuing an MA in Social Work at No

The College was saddened to learn of the sudden death of Visiting Fellow, the Revd Canon Chris Beales. Chris gained a BA through St John’s in 1972, and began his training for ordination at Cranmer Hall that same year. He served in a range of roles nationally, including stints back in the region a

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the death of Andy Corkhill who was the President of the MCR (2015-16) and a valued postgraduate member of the College. The Principal David Wilkinson writes, ‘Andy was an energetic member of the College community, passionate about the environment, p

Joan Crooks, dedicated missionary, teacher, student of Theology and devoted friend of St John’s College and Cranmer Hall, who worshipped for many years at the Cathedral, has died after a short illness. Gillian Boughton-Willmore writes: “Joan Crooks, someone who loved the St John’s

Professor James (Jimmy) Dunn was a distinguished New Testament scholar, former Lightfoot Professor of Divinity at Durham University, and a longstanding friend of St John’s College and the Wesley Study Centre. During his years in Durham, from 1980 until his retirement to Chichester, he was a famili

It is with great sadness that the College heard of the death of Revd Dr Joel Edwards. Joel was a Visiting Fellow of the College and had completed his DThM recently as a part-time student. He was one of the most significant Christian leaders of his generation not only as General Secretary of the Evan

Suzy’s time at St John’s was extraordinarily active and passionate, involving herself in many student endeavours with the college and university alike. Suzy was a member of the Bear Witness Theatre Company, where she produced Godspell, sang in student choirs, was a member of the Christian Union,

It is with great sadness that we share the news of Nick’s passing earlier this year, following illness with pancreatic cancer. Nick lived life to the full till the end, delighting in watching his grandson grow, continuing his charitable work and doing five podcasts about his life assisted by his d

We have learnt that St John’s alumnus Richard (Dick) Haigh passed away on 29 May 2024 at the age of 93. Richard attended St John’s College in 1954 to take a BA degree in Social Studies and later a Diploma in Theology. He was ordained at Christmas 1959 to the parish of Stanwix, Carlisle, where he

Somerset born and bred, Paul was educated at Wells Cathedral School. Somerset was always in his thoughts and he felt a close connection to his roots and his beloved Somerset Cricket team! Another keen interest throughout his life was in the Peninsular Wars and Paul undertook much reading and researc

It is with great sadness that the College heard of the death of Professor Tom McLeish. Tom was for many years a great friend to the College and long time co-investigator on our Equipping Christian Leadership in an Age of Science (ECLAS) project. Tom founded the project with the Principal and contrib

It is with great sadness that I announce the death of Danielle (Dani) O’Hagan, who passed away on 6th February after a courageous battle with cancer. Dani joined the University in 2006, studying BA Combined Honours in Arts, followed by MA Theology, and quickly became a prominent member of the S

It is with great sadness that I report on the passing of Roger Pratt (Combined Arts, 1966-69), an Oscar-nominated cinematographer, great St John’s alumnus and good friend. The Guardian obituary relates his extraordinary career, from ‘clapper-boy’ with the Monty Python team, to cin

The Catering Team and wider John’s community lost a fantastic friend and colleague in Nicky Seal who sadly passed away this October. Nicky joined the Catering Team in June 2003 as a Catering Assistant and quickly became a great friend and work colleague with everyone she worked with. She is and wi

The College is sad to hear the news of the death of Rev Professor Anthony Thiselton FBA who was Principal of St John’s from 1988 to 1992. He was one of the leading biblical scholars of his generation, where his main contribution was in the area of hermeneutics but he had a wide range of interests

The College is saddened to hear of the death of Mally Yates at the age of 92. Mally was one of the most influential people in the history of St John’s. With the admission of female theology students to Cranmer Hall in 1966, Mally was appointed as a new member of staff to care for the new students