Jon Glencross (67-70) died suddenly in Gibsons, British Columbia on May 26th 2021 aged 66 as the Society was informed by his widow Ali and by the Vancouver OP Rep James Mackenzie (87-92).

After leaving Pangbourne, Jon went to Agricultural College in Devon and then worked on various farms while starting a smallholding in Cornwall which gradually extended to 70 acres. One of his near-neighbours was Robert Strang (41-43) who farmed near Liskeard and died in 2009.

In parallel with his farming Jon began a 30-year career as a Cornish Hedger – surely the only OP ever to achieve this distinction – building hedges across Cornwall and Devon. During this period, he also inherited a family estate in Cornwall (his father was J.E.H. Glencross (38-42); he died in 1979) including woodlands, but was disillusioned by the outbreak of the foot-and-mouth disease in 2001 and began to contemplate emigration with his wife. Eventually, he focused on the Sunshine Coast in southwestern British Columbia. After a wait of nearly eight years, the couple got the go-ahead to move in 2011 and left England that summer, eventually settling in Gibsons, BC.

Although retired, Jon remained active to the end of his life putting in a few days a week helping out at the local drugs store “to keep me out of mischief and to pay a few bills.” He also became the commanding officer of the local Navy League Cadet Corps made up of 9-12-year-olds. “I do thank my training at Pangbourne,” he informed the OP Society in March, “not only for being able to cope better in life but also for being able to help the children in our Navy League Cadets.”