Obituaries
Former mayor was real 'gentleman'
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| John Hannis |
Former mayor of Chipping Norton, county and district councillor John Hannis has died, aged 83, after a long battle with cancer.
Mr Hannis represented Chipping Norton for several decades on both Oxfordshire County Council and West Oxfordshire District Council as an independent candidate.
Described by friends and colleagues as a man with a great sense of civic responsibility, in becoming mayor of Chipping Norton he followed in the footsteps of both his father and grandfather who had held the post before him.
Mr Hannis lived in Chipping Norton all his life, his only time away being when he joined the Coldstream Guards during the Second World War.
He would go on to become a stalwart of the Chipping Norton branch of the Royal British Legion and was heavily involved in organising the town's Remembrance Day event.
The Rev Stephen Weston, of St Mary's Church, said: "When I first came to this town 12 years ago I had nothing in my files on the Remembrance Day services and what to do.
"Someone told me to see John, so I did. He was fantastic, and we made the arrangements over a glass of Scotch. We were friends ever since.
"He was a quiet man - very proper and dignified but always a gentleman."
Mr Hannis married his wife Peggy after the war. He also joined the City of Oxford Bus Company, and would spend almost 40 years behind the wheel until his retirement in 1990.
In 2006 he became the first recipient of Chipping Norton's Honorary Citizen award, in recognition of his work.
4:49pm Wednesday 5th March 2008
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