Obituaries

John Davenport Cucksey SH52

14th November 1934- 6th January 2025

After leaving Canford, John became a Chartered Accountant. He worked for an accountancy firm, Spicer and Pegler in London, before becoming a partner at Robson Rhodes. He then joined Neotronics, an International Engineering company as their Financial Director. He had two children with his wife, Jean Cucksey.

Since his days at Canford, he has always been interested in photography. For many years, he was a member of his local camera club and a member of the Royal Photographic Society (‘RPS’). He travelled to the Falklands twice. Using some of these photos he received an Associate distinction in Nature of the RPS (ARPS). He then went on to travel to: east and southern African countries, Kenya and Tanzania; Namibia, Botswana and the Okavango; Zimbabwe and Zambia, with their wide-open spaces and an abundance of wildlife – animals and birds. He spent two weeks on a yacht (ten of them in the party and seven crew) in the Galapagos visiting islands most people never get to – islands with their own unique wildlife. A similar trip to Svalbard in the Arctic with plenty of polar bears. A much longer trip from Antarctica, a sighting of Elephant island, where Shackleton’s men spent several months waiting to be rescued. Visiting that gem of all islands - South Georgia onto Tristan da Cuna, St. Helena and Ascension Island.Over the years he had also been to Egypt, Morocco, New Zealand and Burma/Myanmar and travelled to several European countries, not forgetting England and Scotland.-Shetland Islands, Bass Rock, the Farne Islands and Knoydart. Some of these trips were with the RPS Travel Group of which he was secretary for many years, inspiring others to pursue their own photographic journeys. Photography was a passion for him.

He was an avid sportsman, developing skills he'd learnt at school. He played hockey for local teams. He played tennis, squash and was a lifelong member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and went to many games at Lords. He was a man who loved books, maths, politics, nature and wildlife. His sense of morality, integrity, kindness and selflessness were qualities that defined him. He was a true Gentleman and will be missed terribly by all his family and friends.