Passed away on 20th January, four days short of his 85th birthday. John’s contribution to all the rowing clubs in Monmouth was immense. He arrived in the town in the 1960s, with his wife Ann, and devoted the following thirty years to encouraging pupils at the Boys’ and Girls’ Schools to appreciate the enjoyment and benefits of the sport he loved. He coached GB athletes and Olympians, including Lord Colin Moynihan, Charlie Wiggin and Robin Williams; he also found time to lend his expertise to Monmouth Rowing Club and helped establish the biggest one-day regatta in the UK, in its heyday. John became Chairman of the Welsh Rowing Council and was instrumental in the revival of the Home Countries Regatta. He also led the Wales Rowing team to the 1986 Commonwealth Games.
In 1990, he started the HMSG rowing club where, joined by his daughter Kate in 1994, he continued to inspire many students to take up the sport.
The John Hartland Trophy, donated by Welsh Rowing in 2018, is now competed for by the junior men’s teams, and he is constantly remembered by the boat named after him in 2019.
Away from the river, John also enjoyed acting with the local drama group Off Centre Theatre: he first trod the boards as the father in the School’s production of Billy Liar.
