Head of Photography for Essex County Standard John Adams dead

John Adams died last week at Colchester Hospital aged 80 after a short illness.

He had worked in Essex for several decades on papers including the Gazette, the Essex County Standard and the Clacton Gazette and Harwich and Manningtree Standard.

Mr Adams was born in Kent, the youngest of four children.

The family moved to the Ship Hotel in Burnham when John was eight and they ran the hotel for several years. As a teenager, Mr Adams moved to St Albans to work in a photography shop before moving back to Burnham with his first professional camera.

He set out as a freelance photographer developing images in the bathroom of his family home.

A young John Adams

He then befriended editor of the then Burnham Advertiser, John Savage, in the late 1950s before it became the Maldon and Burnham Standard under the leadership of Hervey Benham.

He met his wife, Marina, in 1964 at the Burnham Carnival and they were married a year later.

At about the same time his daughter, Caren, was born, Mr Benham asked him to be the chief photographer for the Essex County Standard.

Mr Adams saw the launch of the Colchester Evening Gazette in October 13, 1970, and celebrated the birth of his son, Peter, the next day.

Over the following years, Mr Adams would travel far and wide as a photographer including taking trips to Cyprus and Ireland to cover troop activities and flying in a light aircraft to photograph the county from above.

One of the most favourite photos John Adams took in his career

As the photography department expanded to 17, he became photographic manager for the group of newspapers.

In 1994, Mr Adams, who lived in Layer-de-la-Haye, went back to self-employment setting up his own business in Colchester and running it until his mid-seventies.

In a tribute, his family said: “John was a force to be reckoned with, a sociable, loyal family man who could turn his hand to anything including a mahogany staircase from scratch, to fully fitted wardrobes, bespoke decking and house reconstruction in Australia for his son.

John Adams with his wife Marina (left) and children Caren and Peter

“He was loved unconditionally by everyone who knew him and will be sadly missed.

“He would want you to raise a glass. Cheers for the memories, John.”