John Willock died on 30th May aged 67 in Prince
Philip Hospital, He was born on the 11th of May 1949. All his adult life
he strove to improve the lot of ordinary people. Cheerful, enthusiastic and
resilient, John would help anyone and was fearless in support of a good cause.
A son of the village of Llangennech, close to Llanelli, he served as a Community Councillor there for 20 years and was Chair of his council twice. His passions were politics, community service, and his family, including his dogs and racing pigeons.
A son of the village of Llangennech, close to Llanelli, he served as a Community Councillor there for 20 years and was Chair of his council twice. His passions were politics, community service, and his family, including his dogs and racing pigeons.
He was a lifelong socialist, a former trade union member and shop
steward. A tireless campaigner, one of the first members of People First Wales/
Gwerin Gyntaf Cymru, for whom he was a County Council candidate in 2012 and a
stalwart supporter.
John spent his life
fighting injustice and improving facilities for local people. In Llangennech he
started an angling club, youth club, dramatic society and the historic society.
In the wider Llanelli area he was a long time secretary of the Llanelli Trades
Council, he ran a Llanelli based Socialist Discussion Group, he successfully campaigned against the closure
of Llanelli Care homes, saving Caemaen Care Home from closure. He was himself recently a resident of Ty Mair
Nursing Home when illness left him unable to cope at home.
John was instrumental in setting up the Annual Commemoration
of the 1911 Llanelii Railway Strike which takes place in Llanelli every August. He was always greatly impressed by the
courage of the Strikers, the brutality of the shootings and the anger of community
shown afterwards.. Usually when troops start shooting people dead , the locals
disperse. In Llanelli hundreds of unarmed, angry townspeople chased the soldiers back
to the station and they had to lock themselves in for their own safety as stones broke every window. No
wonder the history of the incident was suppressed.
This year the 1911 committee, of which John was secretary, dedicated the events of this commemoration week to the man whose energy and dynamism promoted this important event.
This year the 1911 committee, of which John was secretary, dedicated the events of this commemoration week to the man whose energy and dynamism promoted this important event.
John was a loving father and is survived by his sons, James and Julian. Tragically
his lovely daughter Samantha suddenly and unexpectedly died earlier this year. John
was heartbroken, and perhaps, in his grief never fully recovered from the shock.
John’s Funeral is at Llanelli Crematorium 9.00 am Friday 2nd
September 2016
Siân Caiach
What a moving epitaph and well deserved. He set such an example of selfless devotion to his community. He will be sorely missed by family, friends and the wider community. He embodied the Bell Principles so important to People First Wales so not surprised he was an early member and campaigner.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if People First are going to publish a supportive feature concerning their Cilycwm candidate in the up and coming election! She has worked tirelessly through her blog to keep the Carmarthenshire residents informed about matters the CCC would prefer to remain invisible to us. As a People First Cllr yourself you have shown you are supportive of your constituents and the wider Carmarthenshire area; I believe Jacqui Thompson will put the public interest first and foremost and refuse, as you have, to be bullied into ignoring constituents who have a beef with the CCC. A Director in CCC told my Cllr not to speak to me or become involved in my issue with them. Constituents must have access to their Cllrs; we need Cllrs who'll not be cowed by the wrongful orders of officer & Executive to ignore a constituents rights. I am not a Cilycwm resident but would like to see another brave outspoken Cllr looking after the public interest!
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