Hot on the heels of the death of the airgun historian D T Fletcher comes sad news about the great inventor and airgunsmith John Whiscombe. BBS member greenwayjames, who is well connected, reports he died recently.
Very very rarely someone has a brainwave about building an airgun and then has the engineering skills and the guts to make it a reality. The powerful Whiscombe recoilless air rifles will live on for many decades to come as a testament to JW's genius. By all accounts he was a top bloke too.
(Edit: a US friend who talked regularly with John tells me he has been 'phoning without result and has been unsuccessfully trying for a couple of weeks to contact JW's daughter Kate...)
Last edited by Garvin; 21-12-2019 at 10:28 PM.
Vintage Airguns Gallery
..Above link posted with permission from Gareth W-B
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That is sad news. I only handled one of his rifles once but it was beautifully made if a little heavy.
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Sad news-my condolences to his family and all who were close to him.
His rifles are superb-a fitting representation of the man, it seems.
Never go off half cocked....
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Sad news a great bloke & great engineer. RIP for an inventor of a fabulous Air rifle.
Very sad news. I never met him but, like many others, I could appreciate his skill simply by reading and talking to others about him.
I am sure his name will live on.
Phil
Sad news indeed RIP JW.
Another genius lost his marvels of engineering were also stunning as well. Rip jw. Your engineering genius
Will live on through your creations.
Very sad news of his passing, both the man and his rifles were unique and though he was a modest man who did not seek fame through his rifles he achieved it.
His rifles were built to such a standard that both Purdey or Holland and Holland would have put their names on them.
His name and rifles will live on in Air Gun folklore as the very best that anyone could wish for.
RIP to a very unforgettable man.
Having had the privilege of meeting and knowing him, this news has left me gutted.
RIP.
I met John many times at the FT courses in the 80's, a great man.
RIP John
My sincere condolences to John's family and all who knew him.
It seems only like yesterday that John could regularly be seen at some of the field target shoots I attended, which were some 20 years ago now. John was always approachable and ready to offer advice to anyone that approached him.
Rest in peace John.
John M
All the great old guys with skill and ingenuity are passing on. Classic bike and car restorers, radical airgun design builders etc., A lot of these chaps went through a proper apprenticeship in various types of machining and engineering. I appreciate all that I was taught at the apprentice school at Vauxhall in Luton, it put me in good stead for future work in design and engineering. I fear that we may see less of these type of guys in future years as people prefer to get educated in more types of paper shuffling and computer technology, lets hope not.
Baz
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