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Severn Valley ‘front man’ John Leach dies at 55

John, who lived at Clows Top, had been battling pancreatic cancer for the past year, and died in Worcester Royal Hospital in the early hours of Thursday morning, 29 July.  Aged 55, he leaves a wife, Sue, and young family of three children to whom, as the model ‘family man’, he was utterly devoted.

 

John joined the SVR in 1995 as the first occupant of the newly-created post of marketing manager, and immediately set about arresting the early 1990s pattern of decline in the railway’s passenger figures through a series of new and enlightened publicity and marketing ideas, repositioning the SVR to a far higher profile in the general tourism market.

 

Success came in an almost breathless run of new passenger records in eight of his first ten years, rising from a figure of 172,000 passengers in 1995, to more than a quarter of a million in 2005, when 252,000 passengers were carried. The railway’s revenue trebled in that time, today bringing an annual turnover of more than £6 million.

 

His marketing touch contributed also to a succession of tourism awards for the SVR, including the accolade of Railway of the Year from The Good Britain Guide in 2002.

 

He wasn’t only the face of the SVR to many people, but also the voice, representing the SVR in countless radio and television interviews, and on the panels of many tourism organisations, including the former Heart of England Tourist Board (now Tourism West Midlands), and he was Chairman of Shropshire Star Attractions.

 

Born and brought up in Watford, John had a lifetime interest in railways, and on leaving school went to work for British Rail as an assistant at its Collector’s Corner emporium at Euston. By the mid-1970s he was working with BR London Midland Region’s as a press officer - his first dealings with the media - and in 1985 he became Marketing Manager for the Steam Locomotive Operators Association - the organisation then running main line steam excursions on British Rail metals.

 

SLOA underwent many identity changes, but John remained as the principal promoter of tourist and ‘day out’ steam charter trains on the main line - often taking the role of train manager on many of them. He joined the Severn Valley Railway in 1995.

 

Modest by nature, he would never have claimed to be an expert on railways or a railway historian, but he none-the-less had an almost photographic head for detail, particularly when it came to locomotives and rolling stock.

 

He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July 2009, and although he knew the survival statistics were not in his favour - only four per cent of people diagnosed make it to five years - he demonstrated great mental strength and courage, contending: “There’s absolutely no reason why I can’t be among the four per cent.”

 

John managed his illness by throwing himself headlong into the job that he loved. At a time when he was undergoing chemotherapy, no-one would have blamed him a jot for taking his foot off the pedal - but instead he eased into overdrive, facing up to a demanding routine including many out-of-hours committee meetings - as though everything in his life was still perfectly normal.

 

Planning however against the worst, and aware that it might be a last opportunity, earlier this year he took his wife Sue and children Denise (16), Anna (12) and Kieran (9) to Disneyworld in Florida, when amongst other activities, the family went swimming with dolphins. But on returning home, John was diagnosed with both deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and diabetes - complications which took their toll in his final weeks.

 

Severn Valley Railway (Holdings) plc chairman Mick York paid to tribute to John Leach’s extraordinary strength of character in dealing with his illness.

 

 “John was always so positive that one could not but admire the courage that he demonstrated in the face of such adversity” he said.

 

“He was a genuine railwayman who loved steam, and the Severn Valley Railway is a much stronger and more robust railway as a result of the excellent work he did as our Marketing Manager. He was always thoroughly professional and conscientious, and as the many friends he made in the railway industry will know, his passing leaves a very big hole. He will be greatly missed.”

 

His funeral will take place at St.Bartholomew’s Parish Church, Bayton, near Clows Top, Kidderminster, on Wednesday 18 August 18 at 11 am.

 

The service will be led by one of John’s friends, Severn Valley Railway volunteer signalman and Kidderminster station staffman the Rev Robert Bellamy, Associate Minister of St Mary and St Luke Church at Shareshill near Wolverhampton.

 

A high turnout is expected. In consideration of the narrow roads and lack of parking in Bayton village, the SVR is asking those intending to be at the funeral, to car-share wherever possible.