One of the joys of getting older is that more and more people you know sign off for the last time. I was sorry to hear that John Morrell (aka “Stratman”) has left us after a long battle with illness. He was a builder (and repairer) of valve amps and guitars of the highest standard, which he hand-built in his workshop in Swallownest. He also had a bad joke for every occasion! He started business after the ten years of working the club scene with his wife Dorothy as a guitar / keyboards / comedy act. One of his many achievements was an see-through acrylic Fender twin combo and an acrylic Strat to go with it, used by Tommy Emmanuel. Dozens of local musicians used him to build and set-up their guitars. We’ve lost a genuinely friendly and funny man and a true expert in his field.

John Woodland writes: “As an apprentice at doctors he collected and machined pieces of metal to make a working lathe which was confiscated when doctors found out but the quality was such that they put it in their museum. Although he made numerous amps and guitars I personally saw what I class as a masterpiece. He told me he borrowed a pedal steel from a local shop and stripped it over the weekend,did engineering drawings of each piece then reassembled the pedal and returned it it.

He then turned each part (and there were hundreds ) and assembled the pedal steel from drawings. He didn’t like computers so did it the hard way. I’ve played the end result and it’s perfect. It now is up in the loft as well. I think he was a master craftsman even though Dorothy was not really aware of the depth of his talent. “