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There can’t be many people who can modestly claim to have had an
aeroplane named after them. And, by the same token, there can’t be
many people who have restored a rusted chassis and assorted bits and
pieces into an immaculate Bentley. Stewart John can lay claim to
both of these achievements – but more later.
One cold, bright January morning photographer Andy Newbold and I
arrived at the St George’s Hill, Weybridge, abode of Stewart and his
wife Sue. The first thing which took our eye when entering the gates
is the beginnings of a new building. It turns out that Stewart and
Sue have only recently moved into the charming house and, while Sue
is still busy sorting out where everything goes, Stewart is building
additional garages to accommodate his new Bentley. The extra space
is needed since he already has a Rolls and a Jaguar, and an MG
Estate for Sue.
Stewart, born in the Rhondda Valley, the son of a local butcher, has
spent his working life in the aviation industry. After spending his
school days at a local grammar school in Wales, and having a passion
for engineering, he joined BOAC – later to become British Airways –
as an apprentice, spending two years at the Royal Ordnance factory
in Crewe, a short way from Rolls Royce, and three years at Heathrow.
“I originally intended to join the BOAC engine overhaul plant in
South Wales, but I was offered an avionics apprenticeship and took
that.” Stewart said. “After finishing my apprenticeship I was sent
on secondment to Kuwait Airways for three years and then for a
further three years to Singapore Airlines. This was followed by two
years as Chief Engineer at Borneo Airways, by which time I was 27
years old.”
Then it was back to HQ at Heathrow for ten years and a rapid rise
through the management structure to become Maintenance Manager of
the company’s American fleet, responsible for all Boeing 707 and 747
aircraft.
“Then I was headhunted by the Swire Group headed by Sir Adrian and
Sir John Swire. They said that if I were willing to go out to Hong
Kong they would offer me a seat on the Board and, after a short
time, the post of Engineering Director of Cathay Pacific Airways. So
out we went in 1977 – myself, wife, two children and two Basset
hounds! At that time it was a very small airline operating just
twelve second-hand 707s and two Tri-Stars. When I left in 1994 we
had 57 wide-bodied aircraft, 38 747s and 19 Tri-Stars, and two
additional fleets on order. We were in the top five most profitable
airlines in the world, making more money per aircraft than anybody
else. And I am proud to say that Cathay Pacific was the only
all-Rolls Royce powered scheduled airline in the world, a decision
which was left entirely to me.
“In my time there I was responsible for launching four new engines
for Rolls Royce, a massive undertaking with much technical risk for
a relatively small airline and one I am particularly proud of.”
Stewart did tell me that it was for this, particularly, that he was
awarded the O.B.E. in 1991 for services to civil aviation.
Stewart is also modestly proud of having been Deputy Chairman of the
Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. for fourteen years. In 1991 he
realised there was a shortage of engineering skills in Hong Kong
itself and, with a brand new airport being built for the city,
regularly scoured China for over two years before eventually
building a vast plant to service aircraft in Xiamen, sometimes
called ‘China’s most beautiful city’. Stewart retains his place on
the Board and flies out every two or three months to attend Board
meetings.
On his return to the UK he was approached by Rolls Royce to join the
Board of the aerospace division as ‘ombudsman’, acting as liaison
between the airline design team and its customers. He is still
heavily involved with the company as a member of the Steering
Committee dealing with the design of a new engine for the Boeing 7E7
(‘E’ for experimental) Dreamliner for later this decade.
“I have three great loves in my life,” Stewart said with a grin. “My
family, aircraft, and Bentley motor cars! While I was working in
Hong Kong in 1984 I discovered, on a trip back to England, a very
rare 1954 Bentley ‘R’-Type Convertible in a lock-up in Kew in a
truly dreadful condition. The owner towed it out on its four flat
tyres and we put it on a trailer. I managed to get space for it on a
747 going to Hong Kong a few weeks later and, once there, I set
about restoring it. It took me about two years but it was well worth
it.”
I asked how he had managed to get the parts he needed.
“Oh, I had them made locally.” he said. “Several bits were
difficult, though. The curved windshield, for example, I had to
adapt from an early Range Rover. It had the same curve but I had to
have it cut down because it was too high. And the tyres, I
discovered, were exactly the same as those used on the Public Light
buses in Hong Kong. All I had to do was grind the word ‘Commercial’
off them!”
“Then,” he went on, “back home in 1994, I bought the last
Continental ever built. Only two were made that year and,
coincidentally, the other went to Elton John who, of course, shares
my surname.”
Stewart and Sue have two children, both now grown up – Philip is a
Cabin Services Director with British Airways and Sarah in a
physiotherapist – and five grandchildren. Philip was on duty in the
last Concorde flight to the Flight Museum in Seattle, home of
Boeing. Stewart, himself, flew to New York by invitation to be a
part of that final flight on the leg to Seattle.
Oh, yes, we mentioned earlier an aircraft named after him. It
occurred in Seattle when Stewart was collecting a 747 from Boeing.
When it was wheeled out they pointed out the name ‘Stewart M John’
displayed for all to see. “I was delighted, of course,” Stewart told
me. “But after a week or so I had it painted out. After all, even
the owners of Cathay Pacific hadn’t had their names on one!”
Stewart is on the Board of Brooklands Museum in Weybridge and is
working hard to bring one of the last Concordes there from Bristol.
This will, of course, involve dismantling the aircraft into
manageable bits for moving by road. Once at Brooklands it will be
put back together and eventually opened to the public, the only
Concorde to allow visitors actually to go aboard.
After we had finished our coffee we were invited to see Stewart’s
latest acquisition. Out to the garage and, sweeping aside a dust
sheet, he revealed his current pride and joy, an immaculate Bentley
Azure Convertible. Needless to say photographer Andy and I
cheerfully accepted the invitation to jump in and go and look for a
nice location for the pictures you see on these pages.
When we eventually took our leave we were left with the impression
of a man truly happy with the cards life had dealt him.
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