John Our esteemed People Finding Specialist.
Reconnecting lost Friends from near and afar. A much-sought-after and distinguished old-school people finder of truly extraordinary ability. Born in Luton, Beds, 1946. Educated in the state system, which included Secondary Modern. Came out with zero qualifications. Raised in a so-called working-class environment. Dad worked in the local car factory (Vauxhall Motors), and Mum had 2 domestic cleaning jobs. There was never much money to spare. But really couldn’t have wished for better parents. They looked after him always- impeccably.
Resume. Before beginning, a quick mention of John’s people tracing attributes.
John developed an interest in finding people and genealogy dating back to 1963. John was always more interested in yesterday than tomorrow. His first task was to look up some of his favourite authors. Many used a Non-De-Plume, which meant they could not be contacted other than by writing to their publishing company. John not only found all of them but also their current addresses. From then on, he had a huge interest in this field. But only as a hobby, as there was no money to be made. Over the years, John has kept his hand in sporadically until he retired. Since then, he has been working in this field as an honorary advisor. So, now on to John’s somewhat chequered background, which to many is quite fascinating.
1961
After leaving school (Secondary Modern), as they were known in those days. He first embarked on an apprenticeship as a Hairdresser (Barber) (Rickys) in Luton.
After some time, due to poor pay and long hours, he became disillusioned. But on the positive side, he learned how to interact with people/clients, but saw little future prospect.
1964-1967
After a host of various mundane boring jobs, including a spell working on the production line at the local Vauxhall Motors plant, where he was eventually fired for sleeping in the stillages during his dinner breaks. As a result, he often failed to return. The foreman had to constantly wake him up. To be fair, they were very tolerant and gave him numerous warnings. The truth was that John revealed his tiredness was due to being out most of the night, gallivanting as Mum and Dad used to call it. There were several other short-term jobs, including a return to hairdressing. !965 passed his driving test, which remains for him one of the most glorious days in his life.
1967ish, John took up a new challenge in London.
One day, he came across a particular job opportunity which has remained very memorable to this day. Many of his old friends can hardly believe what happened. He responded to an advert in the Evening Standard for minicab drivers to come and work in London. (30 miles away) Mini cabs were unknown at that time. All taxis were black taxis, with a light on the roof. Mini cabs (private hire) were a completely new concept that, for obvious reasons, did not go down well with the “black cab” boys. Anyway, John went along to the interview in Kentish/Camden Town, held at a rather small and somewhat dubious-looking office on a dingy street corner, off the Prince of Wales Road. John recently tried to look up exactly where the dingy office was located. Astonishingly, the street hasn’t changed one bit, and to add to it all, there is still today a minicab office located exactly where John worked from. Quite surreal to look back at that road where John, rather nervously, began working as a minicab driver in London. Not only that, but to have been interviewed for the job by the legendary/notorious Wally Garelick.
The job offer sounded like heaven to him. ‘Do you own a large car? Do you want to be your own boss? Do you want to control what days and hours you work? Keep all your takings and just pay a reasonable weekly rental fee to the owners! Moreover, you can come and go entirely as you please.
During the interview, John instantly took a liking to the owner, a guy named Wally Garelick. An extremely jovial and larger-than-life character. Rather rotund, weighing 20 stone plus. John also noted people around him seemed a bit in awe of him. Wally mentioned matter of factly that his last job was managing a nightclub in the East End for two brothers known as the Kray Twins. Wally grew up with them in the East End and mentioned he managed one of their boxing clubs. He also mentioned he was currently out on bail after being charged with being the Krays’ get-away driver when they sprang someone known as Frank Mitchell out of Dartmoor prison. Did it put John off taking this job..NO. In fact to him at the time it all seemed rather exciting.
It should be understood the notoriety of the twins came much later on. What John would say is, that in his role as a minicab driver, Wally had a heart of gold and took care of him very well. Being the sole driver from outside of London, the other local drivers would tend to pass on to him the rubbish job. Wally would not allow them to do that to John. What a story that some people might find scarcely believable.
Wally used to regularly bring John along to meet his mum, who lived in a high-rise block in Bethnal Green. A real East End lady, someone like we see in the East Enders series. It was a very close-knit community with mutual respect. One person he used to chauffeur was Barbara Windsor. He recalls she was a lovely and down-to-earth lady.
Another unforgettable experience John recalls relates to Wally and certain ladies of the night. Often John would be asked to ferry them to and from various locations in London, usually Park Lane vicinity. They lived in Hampstead. But instead of the local usual posh accent, they had a strong North country one. A bit rough and ready calling everyone “Luv”. But they were very kind and always bought him fish and chips. The interesting part was that the girls would often call Wally usually late at night to come to their flat as there was some commotion going on. I was often the driver. I would sit outside for some time. Then Wally would reappear and we would return to the office. John knew them well and they were lovely. Anyway, eventually the whole story came out. The girls were known as roll-over hustlers. They would pick up well-heeled punters from the Park Lane area, and offer them an exciting night of sex. What happened in reality was they would take them to the flat and ask them to strip off. Once they had done that the girls robbed them of everything, leaving them lying on the bed stark naked. Wally was “the heavy” in case of trouble. John says when Wally reappeared he was always calm and unruffled. That is apart from one event, where the unhappy punter beat the hell out of him. He said it was a big Texan guy who kept repeating “To hell with the money but to take my Goddam Pants”. He said the Yank took a dim view of that. No, doubt the girls repaid Wally in kind!
Before moving on to another story relating to the minicab office. The office was situated in Kentish Town which had a large Irish community. It was by all accounts a quite rough area and Friday nights were full of fights in and out of the pubs. The perpetrators were mainly young Irish guys living in bedsits. Friday nights involved lots of Guinness and a punch-up or two along the way. Many of them, John was on first-name terms and he had often ferried them to and from the pub. But during the evenings John says they went from Jekyll to Hyde. Raging, angry and waiting to fight everyone including John.
Having said that once sober they were so apologetic and offered money in compensation for the hassle. They were really good guys until they got the demon drink inside them. Anyway eventually due to all the hassle, many cab drivers refused to pick them up, Instead, it was decided that the landlords would pick up the tab. Thus leaving the cab driver free of the hassle and insults. This worked well as none of these boys wanted to be barred from their local. Moreover, they didn’t mean it, and were very apologetic…that is….until the next Friday..lol.
John and the multi-millionairess from Hampstead
Hampstead was only a mile or two from Kentish Town but in total contrast.
John recalls another memorable event from this era. He was called out one day to transport a very affluent and refined highly educated but troubled lady from Hampstead just up the road from Kentish Town. By contrast, Hampstead was the opposite of Kentish Town. She was educated at Roedean school, and accustomed to the good life. Every evening she had her dinner delivered by two gentlemen (waiters) dressed in full penguin attire from Harrods. They arrived in a van displaying the Harrods livery. It was a full formal catering service which John had never witnessed anything like it. John said with his working class upbringing he was embarrassed when the Harrods boys arrived. The table deportment was too much for him. However, his host protected him from his shyness and ignorance of table etiquette. She did it in such a way john never felt embarrassed..she was as John described her a real darling!!
Unfortunately, she was a troubled soul. She seemed devoid of company tended to drink a lot, and often rambled. She would often call for a minicab and then ask the driver to take her to Bournemouth or somewhere for a short holiday. Usually, the trip lasted a week or more. In the end, she simply asked the driver how much she owed, and paid up unhesitatingly. A paradise for exploiters and opportunists. h
Many of the minicab drivers had boasted to John how they had ripped her off badly.
Then mistakenly reassured him (as they thought) that soon it would be his turn to extort money from her. Imagine driving down to Bournemouth and spending a week with her and then presenting her with a huge and exorbitant bill. Which of course she always paid without hesitation. John heard what they said but ignored it. This was not in his DNA makeup to ever contemplate such a thing. He just dismissed it. Eventually sure enough, soon it became John’s turn.!
She asked John to take her on a trip down to Brighton for a week. At the end of the trip, John just asked her for the exact amount she owed. He never wavered from that. Although money for her was not an issue she probably would have been none the wiser. However, the cracks were beginning to show.
One day she asked John to take a large amount of Jewellery down to Hatton Garden and sell it for her.
This was in the days when there were minimal formalities. She knew the Jewellers and in fact, was on first-name terms. He valued her jewellery, agreed the price over the phone, and then proceeded to hand over the cash to her trusty John. Unhesitatingly, John made his way back to her home with the cash. To this day John is still quite staggered that she trusted him to that extent. To what extent…..how much? It was over £100,000. and that was back in 1968-What a Lady! Inavertedly John must have proven himself to her when he never overcharged her on the seaside or any other trip. The contrast in what he charged against what the other drivers charged, must have revealed to her that she had been so cruelly exploited.
Another day John recalls she asked if he could take her to a football match.
Coming from the most prestigious private girls’ school in the country going to watch a football match must have seemed very down-market. Anyway, off they went to watch his beloved Luton Town football club at Kenilworth Road. To this day John is not convinced if she enjoyed the occasion or not. We shall return to finish this story soon. Watch this space! Sad epitaph here: Some years later John decided to revisit where she lived in Hampstead.
Sadly and rather strangely the house where she lived had disappeared. Upon speaking to a neighbour solved the mystery: The house had burned down sadly with her in it. It was not surprising as John noticed during the time he knew her that her daily intake of Vodka had increased considerably. Nevertheless, John was quite devastated as it was someone he knew so well and liked very much. He remembered she was forever talking about her school days when she attended Roedan School. He looked it up and discovered it was the number one most prestigious girls’ school in the country. John is to this day visibly moved whenever recalling his lovely Lola.
To round off John’s time in North London here is another classic. The minicab office where he worked was located in Camden Town just off the Prince Of Wales Road. Which in those days (1967) was the home to many young Irish guys living in Bedsit-land. Most were labourers/navvies working locally. They were the most lovely people until it came to Friday night and they were on their 7th pint of Guinness. Then they transformed from Jekyll to Hyde. Becoming aggressive and abusive which was a shame. Because when you met them the next day they were different and apologetic for their behaviour if they remembered that is. The problem usually starts when you ask for payment for the journey. Anyway, we got around that by asking the pub landlord to cover the taxi instead. This worked well because if there were any issues the client would be barred from their local pub. This was a great lever as most of these Irish boys were living locally in a bedsit and the pub to them was an absolute lifeline. Plus the mini cab driver never had to confront or argue with them. They were all lovely guys. That is until The demon Drink took hold!!
Personal Overview of John He has great empathy with other people especially those in his employ. He always demonstrated that we were a team and more often than not it would be John cleaning the floor, and making THEM a cup of tea.
John was never an aggressive or pushy individual. When employing staff he always treated them with great respect and tried to encourage getting the best from them by being kind. He got much more out of them that way rather than shouting and screaming which is not in his nature. Sometimes though of course treating people with respect and kindness can backfire. But more often than not it worked out better.
People finding experts. He has had his ups and downs in business. Often more downs than ups.
Lastly, although now age 78 he was never one to sit around. Nowadays operates as a volunteer to support his wife’s lost friends service: https://friendsreconnected.co.uk/
By the age of 12, John was earning his own money and doing milk, bread, and Newspaper rounds. From these early experiences, he learned the value of money and the ensuing independence it gave him.
John…Continued:- 1970. Married in Prague to his Czech wife Libby:
After marrying John became all respectable (haha) completely changing direction. Began at ‘Provident Life Association’ 1970-1979 in the City of London. This involved door-to-door selling of their various life assurance policies.
The remunerations were good and included a taxed and insured company car. All servicing, repairs, and fuel were paid, as well as a subsidised mortgage loan. Very good news having just got married. Nevertheless knocking on a stranger’s door was a daunting prospect. He turned out to be an outstanding salesperson. Eventually, out of more than 1000 sales persons he became the company’s top agent for the entire country.
1974-1990 Alongside Provident Life Association John Founder of Andrews Rutter Estate Agency Practise in Luton. Note: From 1974-1979 John combined working for Provident Life and developing his Estate Agency in tandem. Below is an image of John who had just bought this beautiful car for his wife.
In 1990, due to the financial crash and catastrophic interest rates set by Nigel Lawson@15%, he was forced to close the Estate Agency.
Below is the only image John retained from almost 20 years spent as an Estate Agent and here seen outside outside his new shop with Brian Stein former Luton Town FC and England striker. He and Brian are still good friends to this day.
Onwards to the Czech Republic.
1991-1993 Founder Owner; Czechmate. Marriage Dating Agency between UK men and Czech Ladies. World’s First Venture of its kind. Luton UK, and Prague-Czech Republic. See the below article in the Independent. He and Libby appeared twice on national TV to show more about this venture.
In 1994 he had to change direction as everyone was copying his idea of the Marriage dating Agency in Eastern Europe.
1994-1995/6 Wholesaler of Ladies’ Fashion Items. Purchased in London and delivered by us to our Prague Czech Republic, outlets.
1994-2014. Founder and Owner of Europa International Cosmetic Surgery Coordinators, Prague, Czech Republic. Below is an image of Libby John’s wife, before, and after her facelift.
John often described as:- a ‘Creative Ground Breaking Concept Thinking Extraordinaire.’ For example: Devised and successfully marketed the world’s first win-a-facelift competition. Received worldwide coverage including ‘Fox News. See here the example on Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/01/11/look-ma-lottery-changed-my-breast-size.html
2005-2007 Set up and operated an English Tea House in a historic setting close to Prague named Karlstejn. Image see below:
Broke the mould again: This time the Worlds First Win a facelift Competition offered via Chat Magazine. Covered by all major UK media including documentaries made by BBC Look East and Anglia TV. Both followed us to Prague to see the outcome of the winners of readers; win a facelift. Watch us on BBC here https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=hP6fN64ZCcA
Here below is a pic of Libby at the Clinic with ‘Sam Fox’ whom she asked to help promote the clinic.
The Netherlands.
2012 ish. Above is John together with a group of WW2 veterans and their wives just outside Arnhem. This was another of John’s ventures. He also took a group of veterans and families to the River Kwai a great trip apart from the fact John went down with some kind of tummy bug. . http://www.worldwartwoheritage.com/ This site is worth a look for sure.
The good thing about this venture was that John identified the National Lottery funded these trips. All he had to do was to find those who wished to travel. National Lottery also funded a carer to travel with them or an immediate child/wife. He managed to put together 2 trips, one to Arnhem and Nijmegen, the other to River Kwai. We sourced the clients from advertising in Mature Tymes magazine.
But as time went on sadly as fast as he put the trips together, the veterans were dying off. Or, simply not up to the arduous trip.
John took this on not to make lots of money out of it. But more It was something he wanted to do it as a gesture to repay the veterans for the sacrifice made for our generation. Although of course, the money came in handy.
Finally 2 images of great pride to John.
1. Taking pride of place an image of Johns’s Gran ‘Ethel’ taken during her 99th year. Chilling out with her beloved cat and smoking a fag!!!
2. Memorial image of Libby’s father, Josef Cetl, from Prague. 1915-1985.
The Bravest man to ever walk God’s earth. Survivor of 2 concentration camps. First sent to Theresienstadt, then on to Buchenwald, until he was liberated in late 1944.
