Last stop for John after 67 years at Barton Methodist Church organ

A LONG-serving organist has pulled out all the stops for his retirement after 67 years on the keys at a Barton church.

John Stopher (83) first played as a 15-year-old at the Barton Methodist Church where his father Harold was choirmaster for more than 20 years.

He officially retired at Easter but was back for the end-of-term service for the pre-school, with which he has been involved for many years, having served on the management committee and providing the music for the little ones at Mother’s Day and Christmas services.

He said: “I will still continue with the pre-school – I found some can be a little frightened by the organ at their first service and so I show them how it works from the quietest stop to the highest and lowest and let them play on it, discovering how you can play notes with your hands and your feet.”

John’s start as a teenager came after a new electronic organ had been installed, and he asked if he could have a go.

“The organist encouraged me, and I played for a year standing in, and then from time to time.”

The electronic organ was replaced in 1982.

“It was the church’s 50th anniversary and we treated ourselves to a pipe organ with two manuals and pedals that I played at all kinds of services, weddings and funerals – too many to count.”

Qualified as an environmental health officer at Southampton, John then worked for Lymington Borough Council and, when that was superceded, joined New Forest District Council.

Made redundant not long before he was due to retire, he took early retirement – but took on another role where stops are key, joining Swanage steam railway.

“Rather than watching daytime TV, I qualified as a guard and was there for 25 years, and qualified as a mainline guard for the Swanage-Wales operation but that came in too late for me as the travel to Swanage was taking longer and I called it a day on the railway.”

So now he’s happy as a full-time gardener at his New Milton home with wife Suzanne, while younger brother Michael occasionally plays the Barton organ. Older brother Peter also plays for a church in Louisiana.