John Fawcett, who was Secretary to 25 borough Mayors and was involved in many Scarborough groups, dies at the age of 87

John Fawcett died on April 15 in Scarborough Hospital.

One of his daughters, Sally-Ann, said: "Sadly, he died from heart disease, having suffered from problems on and off since 1983. So he did incredibly well and stayed very sharp-minded and agile right to the end."

Mr Fawcett was a director of Scarborough Football Club from 1969 to 1994, serving for several spells as Chairman and Vice Chairman, and in 2007 was appointed President of the successor club, Scarborough Athletic.

He stood down from that post in 2019 and was presented with Life Membership of the club by the chairman, Trevor Bull.

Born in West Ham, London, in 1932, he worked for Unilever in London until he moved to his beloved Scarborough in 1967.

He joined the council as Deputy Director of Publicity and was appointed to the post of Mayor's Secretary in 1974 after local government re-organisation.

He oversaw the diaries of no less than 25 Mayors and in that time wrote hundreds of speeches and organised numerous events.

He also arranged the visits of many dignitaries to the town including Prince Charles and Margaret Thatcher, before retiring in 1995.

During his time in London, Mr Fawcett was Chairman of the West Ham Conservative Association and fought, unsuccessfully, eight council elections in the Labour stronghold.

He became Chairman of the Weaponness branch of the Scarborough & Whitby Conservative Association in 2003/04. but resigned from the party in 2009 in protest against MPs' expenses.

He was President of Scarborough Rotary Club in 1997/98 and Chairman of Scarborough Probus Club in 2002/03.

Other involvements included: Chairman of the Trustees of St Martin's Lodge retirement home 2000-2003; member of the Council of Management of Scarborough Theatre Trust 1973-1997; a founder member of the local Samaritans; former governor of Graham and Wheatcroft Schools; Vice Chairman of the trustees of Scarborough Municipal Charity; and for 10 years an Editor with Scarborough Talking News.

In 1997 he was presented with a Chairman's Award by the Scarborough Civic Society in recognition of his many years of service to the community.

Mr Fawcett is survived by two daughters, Sue and Sally-Ann, and two grandchildren, Douglas and Joanna.

The family plans to hold a memorial service once the lockdown is over; anyone interested in attending, or paying tribute, is asked to email [email protected]