John Grimes

John Grimes passed away, at the age of 69, on 8 November. John was a life member of the Auckland Philatelic Society, and a past President and Patron.

John was born in Gloucester, England. He started collecting stamps at the age of seven when he was given his grandfather's collection. John first came to New Zealand on a working holiday as a guest of several of his New Zealand friends in London. John returned to stay in 1968, and was employed in the painting and decorating trade by a large Auckland firm. On his arrival in Auckland John looked for a stamp club to join, and took six months to find one. John's recollection of the first meeting he attended was not all that favourable. There were 12 members present, all of whom collected mint New Zealand, with but one exception. That was Karl Lellman, who collected Falkland Islands.

The speaker at this first meeting was a Mr Robinson, who talked about penny universals for just over two hours. John was totally bored, as the talk was too much and too long for him to absorb.

The club at that time was a who's who of New Zealand philately, with names such as Val McFarlane, Arthur Dexter, Karl Lellman, Nita Williams, and others. Not long after John had joined the club there was an influx of other English-born members, including Keith Griffiths and Dick Armstrong. John, and Dick Armstrong, both quickly became committee members of the APS.

John attended his first stamp exhibition in New Plymouth. A member of the APS, who also happened to be a pilot, needed to build up some flying hours, and flew himself, John, Keith Griffiths and Bob Robinson down in a four-seater aeroplane. John was given control of the plane, but only for a short time, and when it was well out to sea and far away from Mount Egmont. John later wondered if flying down to New Plymouth was what got Keith Griffiths into aerophilately.

John married Judy, a New Zealander whom he had met in Fiji. Bob Robinson was best man and Keith Griffiths was toastmaster. John and Judy went overseas for 15 months. On his return John and Bernard Eyles started talking about the possibility of holding a national exhibition, and this led to ZEAPEX '80.

John acted as Chairman of the Finance and Fundraising Committee. John was also instrumental in the formation of the Association of Auckland and Northland Philatelic Societies, and he acted as the delegate for the Whangarei Society.

John's collecting interests moved from British Commonwealth, which he collected for a number of years, to Latin America, where he specialised in early postal history and Scarta flights. He was a member of the New Zealand Stamp Dealers' Association since 1982.

John was President of the Society for a number of years, and also held the role of Patron. He will possibly be best remembered as being half the welcoming team behind the counter at Moreton Stamps on High Street, and for his many appearances as a dealer at the APS annual exhibitions. The name of his shop was based on the village of Moreton-in-Marsh in the northern Cotswolds, where John spent much of his early childhood. John will also be remembered as a loyal and life-long fan of the Newcastle Football Club, and for his love of animals.

Judy is keeping Moreton Stamps open.