John Riggs (OW 1937)

(1 March 1920 – 8 December 2021)

At the time of his death, John was our oldest OW having left MCS in 1937.

John was a St Pauls chorister before joining his cousin, William Burgess, at MCS. He was a keen sportsman playing in the 1st X1, getting half colours for rowing, being an accomplished sprinter in athletics and a member of the 1st XV. He enjoyed his amateur dramatics too and was an NCO in the OTC – a portent for the future.

Shortly after leaving MCS WW2 broke out and he found himself in the army, fighting first in the Middle East and then with the Chindits in Burma until the very end of this difficult conflict. An accountant, after the war he decided to try his luck in Asia firstly in Hong Kong, but also in Japan and elsewhere.

He was successful and returned to the UK for a time working for Commercial Union before retiring. In his latter years was cared for at the Royal British Legion Village in Aylesford.

A regular at the VOW lunch until recently, we were delighted to celebrate his 100th birthday just before lockdown. Our thoughts are with his children Barbara, Rosemary and David and their families.

The photograph below shows John in 2016 with MCS Usher, Mr Toby Beaumont.