We are extremely sad to share the news that John Mayhew, the previous Director of APRS died on Sunday 23 November aged 66, after being diagnosed with a brain tumour in February.
“It is hard to emphasise just how central John has been to the fortunes and standing of APRS. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that when he took up the reins as Director, initially as a freelance consultant and then as its only part-time employee, APRS was “on life support”. He has been a wonderful friend and colleague and the absolute mainstay of APRS and our sister organisation SCNP”
John Thomson, chair APRS
Throughout a lengthy career in the voluntary environmental sector in Scotland, John consistently and determinedly pressed the case for the better care of the country’s landscapes and nature. He did so in a manner that was always intellectually rigorous, measured and respectful of other people’s views and standpoints.
When he took on the role of Director of a long-established countryside charity, the Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland, it was – despite a distinguished history – close to moribund and in danger of becoming seriously out of step with developing thinking and priorities in the environmental field.
With the organisation’s finances distinctly shaky, it was a risky step for him to take, even on the part-time basis which was all that APRS could afford to offer. He brought to the task of rebuilding it not only a well-honed intellect, professional expertise as a town and country planner and extensive experience of environmental policy but also considerable organisational skills and self-discipline, an approachable and engaging style, and great good humour. All these served him well in his interactions with the wide range of different people and organisations that the role required of him, from individuals and local communities concerned about proposed developments to Ministers and parliamentarians handling complex public policy issues. In his dealings with the media he could communicate knowledgeably and authoritatively across the wide spectrum of matters on which APRS’s views were seen as relevant.
Under John’s direction, APRS moved from the backwaters of the Scottish environmental scene to being arguably its most successful campaigning NGO. Though the organisation continued to provide advice to local campaigners,and contribute to debate across a wide range of landscape issues, John brought APRS’s energies to focus on three major campaigns. Firstly, establishing a Scottish deposit return scheme for drinks containers, secondly the establishment of more National Parks in Scotland to recognise and celebrate the outstanding quality of its landscapes, and thirdly, stronger protection for and more active management of the country’s Green Belts. In each of these areas APRS achieved very significant progress—most notably the passage of legislation for a deposit return scheme, political commitment to new National Parks by 2026, and better protection for Green Belts in Scotland’s National Planning Framework.
None of these achievements came easily and although in all of them John was ably assisted by the small (and predominantly part-time) support team that he managed to assemble, his personal contribution was fundamental and essential.
As a colleague said on his retirement “He put so much more into the Association than could have reasonably been expected.” In all his roles John combined efficiency, insight and authority with empathy, tolerance and good humour. He was notably resilient in the face of what were at the time undoubtedly dis-spiriting set-backs and remained firmly committed to his APRS role despite the organisation’s often insecure finances and in circumstances in which someone more driven by personal ambition might well have looked elsewhere to advance their career. He even cycled from Gretna Green to John o’Groats to raise money to pay his own salary. The high regard and affection that he commanded amongst all who dealt with him was very much in evidence when he retired from APRS in December 2022.
Beyond APRS itself, John played a pivotal role in strengthening environmental cooperation across Scotland. As Chair of Scottish Environment LINK—the national network of environmental NGOs—he helped increase its credibility as a partner in policy development. His ability to span the worlds of natural heritage, cultural heritage, access and recreation brought a broad perspective to the role acting as an effective bridge between bodies and groups concerned with the natural heritage and those with a cultural heritage remit. He was also more than happy to take part in various parliamentary stunts, cheerfully throwing himself into a heap of plastic bottles for a press photo or cycling down the Royal Mile to Holyrood dressed-up as Father Christmas!
Previous to joining APRS, John worked for the National Trust for Scotland for two decades initially organising conservation volunteers and Thistle Camps across Scotland and then moving to the Trust’s new Policy Research Department. He qualified as a Town Planner and became Head of Policy over a busy period of both internal changes at the Trust and the setting up of the Scottish Parliament. He was much involved in helping inform discussion around many of the important early Acts of the Parliament including the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000 and the first Land Reform (Scotland) Act.
As well as his many roles within SE LINK he undertook other voluntary positions including as President of the Scottish Countryside Rangers Association from 2017. He also continued his involvement with Scotland’s National Parks as the chair of SCNP from 2023.
John grew up in Birmingham, and studied Geography at Cambridge. He had a great love of the outdoors (and maps) and was a keen hillwalker and skier.
He met his wife-to-be Rachel, an architect in Edinburgh, and they married in 1999. They had two sons Robbie and Ally.
John’s personal attributes were central to his achievements. A previous board member of APRS described John as the most efficient person he has ever had dealings with, a judgement that rang true for all who dealt with him.
Members of the APRS staff and board recall him as supportive, thoughtful and encouraging. He fostered a sense of teamwork, mutual respect and shared mission that created the strong organisation we have today. To quote from another previous board member “John had everything it takes: profound knowledge of his subject, excellent presentational skills, adaptability, high standards, networking skills and the ability to enthuse others.”
But perhaps John Thomson, chair of APRS, in his words to mark John’s Retirement in December 2022 put it best as he mulled over some of John’s personal qualities. Using the APRS name he came up with the following:
Authoritative: his calm, well-reasoned voice was unmistakable, whether speaking from a platform, engaging in debate or briefing the media.
Persuasive: his ability to build consensus and win support was central to APRS’s successes during his tenure.
Resilient: Responsible’ would undoubtedly reflect the conscientious commitment John brought to oversight of APRS’s work and resources. But resilient was the foremost quality: for behind all the successes, was a journey often strewn with pitfalls and set-backs, yet John, “always picked himself up, dusted himself off and pressed on. What more could anyone ask?”
And finally, supportive is a word that celebrates the human side of John’s character which enabled him to create and sustain his team, and the generous and encouraging leadership he offered to colleagues, volunteers and partners across the sector.
You can read an Obituary of John in the Scotsman
From the archive: 2008 APRS newsletter from John’s appointment
John Mayhew – The Early Years
Peter Wilkinson’s eulogy for his oldest friend gives a wonderful insight into John’s early years of school and university. This extract gives a peak into John’s life before the NTS and APRS days.
John had so many attributes and aspects to his character. He was considerate, fun-loving, gregarious, thoughtful, an accomplished musician of rare talent, a man of integrity, intensely loyal to family, friends and colleagues, and with an outstanding memory for detail, a fierce intelligence and analytical powers, all worn lightly.
I first became aware of him when we both joined King Edward’s School in Birmingham. One of his classmates tells me his parents had told him to watch out for the very bright boy, John Mayhew, who would be joining at the same time. His natural authority got him elected as their first Form Representative. But soon, his escapades made him the bane of some teachers and his fame, or notoriety, spread throughout the school, so it was with some trepidation I was put in the same class as him in the second year, especially as he had won one of only a handful of Foundation Academic Scholarships on the basis of his exceptional examination performance. We soon became firm friends, having the first of our many rendezvous in Birmingham city centre, ostensibly to buy Christmas presents, but mainly to visit a chemicals shop to get supplies for the illicit pyrotechnics which were all the rage on Scout expeditions at the time.
In the early years, John got a reputation as “the naughty boy”, which was undeserved, because he was never malicious or thoughtless – far from it. It was just that his shock of ginger hair and booming voice, often expressing out loud what many of us were thinking, made him an easy target for more thin-skinned teachers trying to root out the cause of low-level schoolboy disruption. A lot of us were grateful to John for taking the rap and punishments for misdemeanours, which should have been more widely shared.
John had many talents and interests which flourished at school. He was an exceptional musician, singing in the main school choir and Chapel Choir, playing the piano to grade 8 and beyond and learning the organ, a particularly fitting loud and hard to ignore instrument. John’s antipathy to organised team sports did not sit well with a school House system, but under his leadership, his House won the music competition with his heart-rending choral arrangements of “Old Shep” and his rousing rendition of “The Entrance of the Queen of Sheba”, which he accompanied on the organ. John also generously lent his talents to our impromptu attempts to form a blues ensemble and even played keyboards in the short-lived rock bands “Wobble” and “Hassle” in a local pub’s upstairs disco.
John was a keen member of the school Scout Group and loved going on youth hostelling and camping expeditions from Birmingham to the wilder terrains in Wales, the Forest of Dean, the Peak District, Lake District and Scotland. With his love of maps and encyclopaedic knowledge of transport systems, he was frequently the only one who knew where we were or whither we were headed.
John trod the stage at school with gusto, appearing as Jack in “The Importance of Being Earnest” and having the opening line in “Romeo and Juliet” as well as in many other productions, including accompanying an evening of Noel Coward sketches on the piano. As well as the artistic merits, participation in the Dramatic Society was an excuse for a few leisurely pints in The Gun Barrels pub after Saturday morning rehearsals – we were convinced consuming a packet of Polo Mints on the way home would mean our parents would not know what we had been up to. It was also our chance to meet those mysterious creatures who were educated in the other school beyond a line of dustbins – girls! For many years, John and I puzzled over why these exotic creatures seemed so oblivious to our many fine qualities, which seemed so evident to us. Our ploys even extended to escorting a group of our female friends to all four consecutive evenings of Wagner’s Ring Cycle.
John next went on to study Geography at Cambridge University with a Choral Scholarship to Jesus College, to which he added an academic scholarship after his first-year examinations. John was always a person of eclectic tastes and was at ease in many surroundings: singing evensong in the medieval college twice a week, learning ballroom dancing, enjoying both classical music and the post punk and R&B music of the era, the finest dining in Hall or calling in at the chippy after an evening in the pub. John had excellent taste in friends, I think we can all agree, and one of his talents was his ability to bring people together. At university, he made many sets of friends who he has kept in touch with and stayed loyal to throughout the years, many of whom are represented here today: the Geographers from his course, his Interrail companions from his first summer vacation, his second year housemates and “The Wasters”, a group of like-minded characters who John was instrumental in bringing together at a Monopoly Party evening and are still meeting up at least annually more than forty years on.
After Cambridge, John went on to take a masters in Landscape Ecology, Maintenance and Design at London University’s agricultural college at Wye in Kent. This set him firmly on the track to his career in conservation and the environment, his first job after qualifying taking him to Edinburgh.
John Mayhew: the NTS years
In this extract from the eulogy given by Jo Hunt, long-time friend and colleague, Jo explains more about John’s NTS years and the evolution of John’s wardrobe, from that first day John interviewed him for a job ‘dressed all in beige with a Fair Isle tank top and a Paisley silk bow tie’ to his trademark Ron Hill running leggings.
John has been one of the foundation stones of the voluntary conservation sector in Scotland for more than three decades. Always positive, practical, calm and encouraging – ‘Oh yes – that’s very good, we should do that’! He took people on a journey that made you feel absolutely sure you’d get there in the end.
At the National Trust for Scotland he led their volunteer and Thistle Camp work and was awarded the ‘golden lumphammer’ by the volunteers when he moved on to become Planning and Policy Officer. I saw the hammer on the windowsill at Plewlands the other day.
John saw himself as a modest participant in a larger organisation. He always had faith in the system. Even more so as he got older. He never pushed too hard, and always respected others and he managed to separate someone’s position from the person, which won him many friends on all sides. The current chair of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee, Finlay Carson MSP, wrote to Rachel as soon as he heard the sad news, expressing his admiration and fondness for someone who kept him on his toes.
John played a key role in some of the big environment issues in Scotland. Giving evidence at the Lingerbay Planning Inquiry, preventing the mining of the Isle of Harris for London roadbuilding. He even suggested that NTS put in it’s own planning application for a gondola from the hay meadow at Rothiemurchas up to the summit of Cairngorm, instead of the ill-fated funicular railway. His bosses didn’t back the idea, but he was still right.
John loved to connect people, to share his time – he was social glue. Only with John could a late night meet to plot tactics for NTS Council session the next day, turn into a video karaoke performance for 30 Edinburgh lasses out for a hen night in the same restaurant. John confirmed that “we were not going to get out alive without singing for them” and led us, standing on our seats, singing “Staying Alive” by the Bee Gees!
John embodied good environmental stewardship in every part of his life – cycling to work, taking the train, eating a packed lunch (with a dymo label of his name on the lid), sorting the recycling, going to voluntary committee meetings in the evening – invariably finishing at a bar serving real ale! And even using his weekends to organise visits around Scotland for the British Association of Nature Conservationists (BANC).
John loved spending time in the great outdoors. Whether climbing Munros, visiting remote beaches, learning to telemark ski, or staying in NTS’ beautiful apartments (although he really wasn’t keen on camping).
John liked to make sense of the world by making lists and collecting things. Maps – with a highlighter line showing every route he had covered on foot, bike or car. A green leatherbound Filofax as thick as a brick, containing his diary, contacts and, not only packing lists for different types of trip away; but an index of packing lists of what to take on different types of trip away.
And then there were the telegraph pole insulators!
John accompanied me on a work trip to one for the nature sites I managed in in Wester Ross. I got on with some survey work whilst John went off to bag Lurg Mhor and another Munro he called Beinn Corrie Cheesecake. On the bumpy drive back out he told me that Beinn Dronnaig Lodge had the second longest private telephone cable in Scotland, installed in 1920. It wasn’t working anymore and we were soon standing on the roof of the Land Rover prying an insulator off. ‘Excellent’, said John, ‘it’s getting a label and pride of place on the shelf when I get home’.
John’s wardrobe evolved. The night before we set off to cycle up the outer Hebrides together, one October, John asked me to do a kit check. I had to make him take out the two sets of corduroys, three collared shirts and a huge jumper that he’d packed for ‘evening wear’. Luckily the Oban gearshop was open when we got off the train – and I took him in to buy a pair of Ron Hill running leggings. ‘I can’t walk around in just a pair of tights’ said John. But he did, for the next 20 years.