John Campton (1854-1920)

John Campton is the only son of Thomas and Mary and was born in Stoney Stanton in 1854. It is unlikely that he attended school, however, as he maintained basic literacy skills, exhibited in his letters, it is possible that he attended Sunday school where he would have been taught to read and write. His faith continued to grow into his adulthood as it is believed that he later became a member of the Salvation Army, possibly reaching the rank of major.

At the age of 14 he began an apprenticeship as a bricklayer with his uncle, John Wildbore who was his mother’s brother. He became a builder and eventually set up his own business towards the end of the 19th Century. During this time as a ‘master builder’, it is thought he built his own houses which were rented out. John didn’t really have a head for business and in the early years of the twentieth century the business collapsed. It is believed that John became involved with two other people who underhandedly stripped the business of its assets.

John’s eldest son, John Thomas known as Jack, bought a Fish and Chip shop for his parents when the building business folded. The 1911 census shows that it was a family business with John, his wife Eliza and son Harold all working in the shop. Rumour has it, the serving of generous portions lead to another failed business for John.