This introduction paints a typical picture of a family (i.e. two children, four grandchildren) and could describe any family anywhere in the country. However, in terms of their effect on Little Eaton they were influential and “special” rather than “typical” would be a better description. This article is about John but Janet was a  formidable lady in her own right and deserves a mention. She was school secretary for many years and also had roles to play for the Carnival (secretary), the Produce Show and the Bates Trust. Some years ago, she also stood as a candidate to be a parish councillor. She was not elected which is a shame because I'm sure she would have stirred things up at Ilkeston.

 When we came to Little Eaton in 1978 we got to know John and Janet fairly early on because, as is often the case, my daughter and Sarah Easter were school friends. When my “new” work colleagues asked where we had moved to and I replied Little Eaton the response was often “Do you know John Easter”. It became fairly obvious that the name John Easter was synonymous with all things “Little Eaton”. The word “legend” is often over used but John was truly a Little Eaton Legend.

John had a happy and active childhood in the village but an early incident could have been more serious . As a small child in his pram he finished up in the brook when the little girl who was looking after him allowed the pram to run into the water, Fortunately everyone involved lived to tell the tale and the little girl shall remain nameless. He was growing up during World War 2 and spent some time at Thums farm on the corner of Vicarage Lane and  the Town when his father and other men from the village had been called up for active service. He  had many adventures and on one occasion he and his cousin Mick Slack managed to start a fire in one of the barns.

John was educated at Little Eaton Primary School and Denby Smithy Houses  Secondary Modern School which later became John Flamsteed School  He started his working life with a railway apprenticeship. This was a time when National Service was still required and for the only time in his life John spent two years away from Little Eaton while serving in the RAF. In time John moved to Rolls Royce where he spent the rest of his working life. His work for Rolls Royce involved a fair bit of foreign travel including trips to such places as the USA, Japan, Germany, Italy and France.

John's leisure time was centred around Little Eaton and, as a young man he joined both the cricket and football clubs. It is fair to say that cricket was his first love and he started playing for Little Eaton in the 1950s. John Carlier, a cricketing buddy of John's joined the club at about the same time and it coincided with a period when Little Eaton's cricketing old guard were retiring so the two Johns were very soon integral members of the team. John Carlier was Chairman for a time then John Easter took over with Brian Carman as Secretary . With those three Little Eaton CC was a well run club. In terms of his performance on the pitch John Easter was a fierce competitor and a leader who led by example.

Use the arrows to scroll through 17 pictures.

Latterly when his playing days were over John was President of the club. His playing days actually ended when John was in his 70s when he turned out for the second team when they were a man short. It is a measure of the man that he could boast that he played for Little Eaton CC in 7 decades. It is also worth noting that John was involved in the coaching of youngsters and the organisation of the Butterley and Jackson Cups, local cricket competitions run for the Mayor of Derby's charities. John was also a member of Derbyshire County Cricket Club and a well known figure at the County Ground 

Although cricket was John's main sporting interest he also played football for Little Eaton and Frank Harrison, who played at the same time, described him as an uncompromising, tough tackling defender who also managed to score a few goals. John also had stint playing semi-professionally for Long Eaton United, once losing a game in the last qualifying round of the FA Cup. John continued to play football until his late 30s and needless to say was captain of the team for a few years. John also had a season ticket for Derby County and he and I and Frank Harrison sat together watching Derby County have bad days (frequently) and good days (less frequently) for over 20 years.  

John Easter loved his sport both as a participator and latterly as a spectator for many years. However his life in Little Eaton was about much more than sport. He loved his village and immersed himself in virtually every facet of it. He served on the Parish Council for many years. He was Chairman of the Produce Show during his last few years taking it on at a time when it could have fallen by the wayside. John also became involved with the Senior Citizens Group although he took time to admit that he was old enough to be a member !

John also had a love of St Peters Park and was passionate about protecting it and in particular the cricket square . John always worried that  Carnival activities would stray too close to the square and cause damage. However he was a strong supporter of the Carnival and I was appointed  to be his assistant in marking out the running track for a number of years. John's place on Carnival day was on the tombola stall with wife Janet though previously they ran the bowling stall.  I like to think that Thomas Bates gave the park to the village and John Easter took on his mantle and looked after it for many years. John also played a key role in raising money for both the rebuild of the Little Eaton Community Centre and Pavilion and helped to organise the village  tote in those pre-lottery days. He was also involved with the Millennium walkway and was extremely proud that his and others' efforts led to the facilities that we benefit from today being built.

John was also an avid collector of Little Eaton memorabilia. His loft at Stoneleah became the Little Eaton Room with a vast collection of post cards, articles, newspaper cuttings and books and indeed anything that had any connection with Little Eaton.

In 2016 it became obvious to a group of us that the village needed to preserve John's collection and from such thoughts came the birth of Little Eaton Local History Society. I am pleased to say that John's collection is now preserved electronically on our web site for anyone who wishes to view it. Needless to say, only one person could be President of our group. Not only was John our President but he was also a constant source of information about the village. He was my “go to” man when enquiries were made to us via the web site. He was also very useful as a speaker at one of our meetings if we were struggling. Before her untimely death Janet came to meetings and I have an abiding memory of her disagreeing on occasion with some fact about the village that John had spoken about. Needless to say, I kept quiet and let them get on with it!

I began this piece by recounting a couple of “adventures” that John had when he was young. Let me finish by mentioning something more recent. A couple of years ago when he was in his early eighties John and his good friend Jim Young decided to make a trip to New Zealand. No sooner had they arrived in the country when John fell on an escalator and badly injured his arm. The first trip for John on the tour was to the local A and E where he stayed overnight. Jim went with him and eventually went back to the hotel that they had booked. The following day a “patched up” John was at the hotel and ready to start the tour which they completed.

John died on January 17th 2021.           

John Easter's heart and soul were about his family and his village. Those of us with a love of Little Eaton have a duty to ensure that John's legacy lives on.

I am grateful for the help I received from Matthew and Sarah Easter, John Carlier, Jim Young, Brian Carman and Frank Harrison in writing this piece.

Bill Hutchison