Despite his Swiss surname, John was the epitome of an English gentleman. Born in Westcliffe-on Sea, Essex in 1935, most of his formative years were spent at Cranleigh School in Surrey and Hull University. Upon being called up for National Service he joined the Royal Air Force, during the time of the Korean War, as a Fighter Plotter, stationed at RAF Linton on Ouse and HQ Fighter Command, Stanmore Park.

John left the UK at the age of 21, initially for a position within a British factory at the port of Hamburg, where his German improved rapidly and he became a much admired member of the St. Pauli Rugby Club, who flew him into Berlin in 1956 so that he could join his team for a match in the German Rugby Cup. In 1962, he was recruited by the British Consulate in Hamburg to work in the Commercial Services of the British Embassy in Bonn, thus beginning a 35-year career in the Diplomatic Service.

During his time in Bonn, John had been attached to the British Embassy alongside a colleague called David Cornwell, better known later as the author John Le Carré. In 1967, John led a group of embassy colleagues to form the Rugby section of the Bonn Sports Club, which later became the Rugby Club Bonn-Rhein-Sieg. He was later transferred to Bern, before his appointment in 1971 to the British Consulate General in Zurich where, as Vice-Consul (Commercial) he was responsible for trade relations and improving business relations between Britain and Switzerland. John enjoyed the respect and confidence of his colleagues and UK clients throughout his period of service, and his achievements were recognised by the award of Member of the British Empire (MBE) in 1986.

Whilst stationed in Germany, John was married and became father to Geoff. Subsequently, he married Sissy in 1978. The family settled in Egg, Zurich and grew with the birth of Jennifer and Tim. Family life was busy, sporty and interspersed with the need to accommodate John’s hobby of spreading parts and glue for plastic models all over the kitchen table.

John was always a keen amateur theatre lover, appearing in various performances and helping behind the scenes with plays presented by the Zurich Comedy Club (now known as Zest). His greatest contribution to the Comedy Club was to mastermind performances in the style of a Victorian-style Music Hall, where the audience was invited to join in the songs (printed in the programme). He was a great fan of the format, and regretted that in England it was dying. He himself took the role of the Chairman, which usually included at least one solo performance of a popular song. Occasionally he took part in one of the sketches which made up the rest of the evening’s entertainment and was renowned for his role as the Galloping Major. Perhaps it was his love for this format which encouraged him to grow a most impressive moustache, reminiscent of the 19th century man about town.

As one of the co-founders and president of Zurich Rugby Club, John was instrumental in the integration of the Club into Grasshopper Club Zurich, thus firmly establishing the sport of rugby in Zurich. He was also instrumental in the development of women's rugby in Switzerland, and the "Most Improved Player Ladies" trophy is named after him. He was an incredibly active player, who continued to lace up his boots and head out onto the pitch long after many others of his generation (and younger) had retired to the touch line, helping to found the Egg Panhandle Wildpigs touch Rugby club in 2012. In addition, John was one of the founding members of the GC Squash Section, the second sport he was passionate about, and also played tennis and cricket as well as participating in the GC Olympics in 2010, to score a goal in floorball.

John was a committed and supportive member of St Andrew’s Anglican church, where he is fondly remembered as a real gentleman. A constant presence, he would often direct traffic during communion services and would represent the Royal British Legion and the Royal Airforce Association at Remembrance Day services.

A memorial service for John will be held at St Andrew's church, Promenadengasse, Zurich on Tuesday 11th July at 2pm, with a reception afterwards at the Oliver Twist pub. Our thoughts and prayers are with John's widow, Sissy and her family and friends at this sad time.

All photos with kind permission from Sissy Gysin

Obituary complied by Lisa Long, with grateful thanks to Alan Bridgman & Eugen Desiderato