Spotlight on … John and Ann Lear

As told to Gareth David

For most of the past 15 years Ann has not only edited this magazine, but also acted as devoted carer to her husband, John, who suffered a cardiac arrest in 2010 and was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s five years later. As she steps down from the Editor’s chair to devote more time to John, she recalls her early life in Argentina and a connection with Haslemere that dates back to 1954.

“My father had been wounded by a bullet in his lung during the Battle of the Somme in World War One and, on discharge from hospital, was advised to go to a warm country in order to have a better chance of survival. So he went to Argentina, living happily there until the age of 79. He also met my mother there, and I was born in Buenos Aires in March 1941.

“I went to a British school in a place called Hurlingham, a suburb of Buenos Aires, then was sent abroad to school in Haslemere at what was then Oak Hall (later Wispers) from 1954 until 1957. As the sea journey took three weeks it was impossible to go home for school holidays, so I stayed as a paying guest with a family in Churt, and this was when I first got to know St. Bart’s church.

“After taking my A Levels I went back to Argentina, where I took a shorthand/ typing course. Just before ‘graduating’ I was sheltering from rain outside adjoining Pan American Airways offices and saw an advert for English-speaking air hostesses, which sounded very tempting, even though I had never flown before!

Taking to the skies:

“Three weeks later I was in Lima, Peru, being trained, having needed to get parental permission to travel alone as I was only 17. I flew for just over two years (1958-60), based in Lima, enjoying the travel opportunities to Miami, Panama, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, besides holiday travel with mother, first to the Far East, (Hong Kong and Japan, via Hawaii) then Europe. Jet planes were introduced during my time with Pan Am.

“I gave that life up after a couple of years and returned to Buenos Aires, where I got a secretarial job and where one of my hobbies was amateur dramatics. Through this I met John and we got married in 1964, later having four children. He was in the music business (a producer for CBS Records and later manager for Polygram Records), but was told by Polygram he could only get promotion if he went abroad, which he was reluctant to do at the time.

“That all changed with the outbreak of the Falklands War in 1982, when he said he was willing to move, so within weeks he was in Mexico, with the promise that if he could sort out some problems there he would be able to move to head office in London. The family followed six months later, at the end of the school year. After a fascinating two years in Mexico, the move was made to the UK in 1985, where John was put in charge of South America, Spain and Portugal.

John Lear: husband, musician, sportsman and Lay Reader:

“John’s story encompasses music, rugby and the church. His father had gone to Argentina as a missionary, later becoming a full-time minister for the Plymouth Brethren. He was sent to St. Lawrence College in England after WW2, where, as missionary’s sons, he and his brother were given bursaries. Here he learned to love rugby and, recommended by his school’s rugby master, he played for Harlequins.

“Back in Argentina, he was working in a travel agency, playing rugby and performing as part of a men’s close harmony quartet when, after a game of rugby, he was approached by the man who was setting up CBS records in Buenos Aires. He was asked whether he would like to take on the job of record producer, on the strength of his amateur singing group, and it became his much-enjoyed work for life.

“During our time in Argentina John became involved in the small English-speaking Church where we lived outside Buenos Aires. Here he was asked to take a Readers’ Course and, later, to start up the Spanish work in the church, as the ‘imported’ British clergy’s Spanish wasn’t up to it. On occasions he would lead a service, preach, and then disappear off behind the organ to play for the hymns - a true one-man band!

Arrival in England:

“When we came to the UK in 1985 we rented in Haslemere, but then bought a house in Godalming in 1986, on the basis of what was available, and because our two youngest children were at school at King Edward’s in Witley. The School Secretary there was a keen Christian who encouraged us to buy in Busbridge and attend St. John the Baptist church. We became very involved in the church there, with John becoming a Reader and I was a Churchwarden.

“When he retired from the music business, John was invited by the Rector in Busbridge to study to be a Local Ordained Minister, but opted to do the Readers’ Course instead. He was enjoying the course, but it was cut short when the then Bishop of Guildford learned that he had done a similar course in Argentina and had considerable experience in Church work, so was made a Lay Reader, course unfinished.

A growing family:

“Our eldest son, David, was 18 when we left Argentina, so went to university in Mexico then London and is now in Buenos Aires, where he teaches English. Our eldest daughter, Jennifer, married a Brit from the Northeast and now lives in Godalming, where she and her husband are both teachers - she teaches Spanish.

“Our second son, Rob, followed in John’s footsteps and is in the music business, living in Mexico. Finally our youngest daughter, Deborah, met a South African man while taking an Alpha Course at Holy Trinity, Brompton, was married in Busbridge and in due course they moved to Cape Town. We have ten grandchildren, and our first great grand-child is due in April.

Moving to Haslemere and taking on The Link magazine:

“We came to Haslemere in 2006, following the trend of some friends to downsize and immediately became involved at St Bart’s, where John was also asked to lead and preach. This came to an end when he had a massive cardiac arrest in 2010, which kept him in hospital for 6½ months and left him with some brain damage.

“Norman Jones, the Rector at the time, was looking to revamp The Link magazine and invited anyone who was interested to come to a meeting. I knew the person editing the magazine at Busbridge Church, and she agreed to join me at the meeting, where I landed the job of Secretary, while Margaret Morris was Editor. Margaret eventually left, as did Julie Fox, who had been responsible for advertising, so gradually I found myself doing everything!

“The magazine has been a life-line for me, but after nearly 15 years I have decided to hand over the editorship (to Jane Slevin), as I need more time to spend with John, since Alzheimer’s makes life ever more difficult for him. He is 91 years old and I am trying to spend more ‘quality time’ with him.

“What I have enjoyed about editing the magazine was trying to make it look good through the use of pictures and graphics. As an 11-year-old at school I had ‘played’ at editing a magazine, so it’s fair to say that this was a dream come true!

Performances in February—after 2 year delay

Godalming Operatic Society returns after a two year hiatus with the ever popular ‘Pirates of Penzance’. Performing for ten nights in total at both Godalming Borough Hall and Leatherhead Theatre from the 14th February onwards, this Gilbert & Sullivan favourite, accompanied by a 22 piece professional orchestra, is not to be missed! For more info on how to buy tickets please visit: www.godalmingoperatic.org/tickets.

Editor’s Note:

Tim Dutton will be appearing with his fabulous whiskers!