True son of the North East reflects on how education was the key to his success

It has been almost 80 years since John Churchill graduated from Constantine Technical College. In that time he has fought in World War Two, spent time in POW camps, launched his own advertising business and emigrated to Canada. The 94-year-old still looks back on his time at Teesside with the fondest of memories and says he can’t believe how much the University has changed.

When John graduated in 1936 he had the whole world at his feet and, despite facing the atrocities of War, now looks back on his life with great pride and happiness.

In fact, John decided to get back in touch with the University after reading about the institution’s success and he couldn’t believe the progress it has made.

Born in Sunderland and schooled in Darlington, John Studied in Middlesbrough and after graduating went to live in Newcastle until the war broke out in 1939.

'I loved studying at Constantine because it was the first time in my life I was in a class where everybody wanted to learn. Of course in those days there was no graduation ceremony and we didn’t even get a certificate. But we worked ever so hard - in fact because the way the economy was we did a three year course in two years by studying at night.'

In 1939 John signed up with the 50th Northumbrian Division, Royal Corps of Signals and one of his first actions as a serviceman was to assist with the Dunkirk evacuations in May and June 1940.

'Our lads spent days on that beach and I was appointed by the MPs to guide the flow of traffic. We managed to jump aboard the last Destroyer to leave the harbour and get safely away.'

But John’s luck was to run out next time he saw action. After transferring to Haifa he was captured whilst in the Knightsbridge defensive box during the battle of Gazela, a precursor to El Alameine. He went on to spend three years in POW camps between 1942 and 1945.

'We always felt that the German soldiers were really quite like the English. They were terrified of the Nazis as well and whenever they came to the camp the German soldiers were very jittery and nervous.

'A lot had it worse than we did, but we had a pretty hard time. I remember the Italians marching us through one of their minefields outside Tripoli and they didn’t even know where the mines were. It was terrifying and some of our boys didn’t make the journey.'

After the war John returned to the UK to work at the Hopwood advertising agency in Manchester and later set up on his own with an agency called Publicity Services, but it was a hard time to be in business. In 1951 he and his wife emigrated to Canada.

'The economic situation in Canada was much healthier and we thrived there. We were very happy, but we still came home for a few weeks every year.

'If I had any advice for students and graduates today it would be to take any opportunities that come along and do your homework. I was able to be successful because I made sure I knew how to do everyone else’s job as well as my own so no-one could ever pull the wool over my eyes.

'Working in advertising means that you’re managing a lot of very creative people which brings its own challenges, but I loved the buzz of working with people trying new things.'

When asked what advice he would give to any current Teesside students or graduates, John said: 'I check the website for news regularly and when I saw the latest issue of Research and Business Magazine, I was astounded by the facilities available at the University. When I think back to Constantine College and what we had then and you see the amazing buildings and the sheer size of the place now it is unrecognisable.

'So my advice to today’s students would be to make the most of the learning resources you have. It’s incredible how Teesside University has grown and it makes me so proud to be a member of the alumni association.'

---