John Williams, G0DSK, 9th April 2020

My father-in-law, John Williams, G0DSK, sadly passed away on the 9th of April 2020, aged 86. He had been suffering from poor health, including Alzheimer’s, for some time.

John Williams, G0DSK (SK), seen in 2016

After a period in the Merchant Navy, John followed a long career as a telecommunications professional with Cable and Wireless, the British Post Office (and then British Telecom), working on many different aspects, including the early TOR (teleprinter-over-radio) technology. Despite his communications background, he became interested in amateur radio surprisingly late in life, gaining the call G8XIS in 1980 and then G0DSK in 1985.

With his proficiency in Morse, he was a natural for HF CW and spent many happy hours chatting around the world on his ancient ex-WD straight key! I was lucky to have his help and guidance when learning Morse myself, enabling me to gain my own A licence.

John never lost his love of the sea and restored not one but two motor cruisers, which he enjoyed sailing on the Thames and Medway rivers. His second boat spent a couple of years sitting in his front garden in Beckenham during the restoration and became quite a local landmark!

After his retirement, John and his wife Shirley moved to Sandwich, Kent, where they spent many years renovating a run-down cottage and creating stunning gardens and grounds. As well as operating on the air, John enjoyed restoring vintage radio equipment and rebuilt several WS62 sets as well as an AR88D receiver. He also became a bit of an eco-warrior, campaigning successfully against a number of waste incinerator proposals in his local area.

One of his best and proudest memories was being able to assist via amateur radio in a rescue at sea off the Essex coast in the mid-1980s, during which he coordinated with emergency services to guide them to the distress location.

Shirley died in 2017 and John never really recovered from the loss, becoming increasingly frail and disabled, and unable to spend much time on the air. With the help of his family and carers, he was nevertheless able to remain in his home to the end, which had always been his wish. He is survived by his two children, 13 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.

Tribute and photo courtesy of John Hedger, M0YHS

Category: Silent Keys