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Old 9th Jun 2018, 6:06 pm   #1
stevehertz
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Default Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

Anyone who cut their teeth in the world of TV repairs in the 50s, 60s or 70s will have read at some point the excellent Les Lawry-Johns page in 'Television' magazine. His lovely dry sense of humour regaling the problems he had with sets and people kept me amused when I discovered Television mag back in the mid 70s and since then when I've read older copies.

But who was LLJ? I'm led to believe there was no such person as LLJ it was a pen name. Or were there even a number of LLJs?

Who was Les Lawry-Johns?!

What's your favourite LLJ story/farce?

For anyone who has not read LLJ: https://www.vintage-radio.info/llj
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Old 9th Jun 2018, 6:42 pm   #2
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Default Re: Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

He was a favourite author/contributor of mine too. Never question his origin or background - just accepted his output at face value but if there's a story behind the man I'd be interested to hear of it.
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Old 9th Jun 2018, 6:47 pm   #3
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Default Re: Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

I believe Les Lawry-Johns was his real name but also wrote under other names such as S.Simon.

John Joe.
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Old 9th Jun 2018, 7:51 pm   #4
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Default Re: Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

He had a radio and television shop in Kent I believe.
Very clever TV repair man. Started the 'Servicing Television Receivers' articles in the early 50's beginning with the HMV 1807!

As a very young lad he taught me a lot through his articles in PRACTICAL TELEVISION and I have no doubt helped launch me into the television trade.

I also believe he gave advice via the 'Your Problems Solved' section. Always 100% right.
There were odd editions when it appears that the fault solving was not done by Les. It stands out a mile, the answers being vague and incorrect.

This very rare picture of him appeared in his article August 1984.

I wrote to his wife when he passed away telling her of the help Les gave me via P.T. It was of course unknown to him. I had a very nice letter from her that was mentioned in P.T. Very sadly missed. John.
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Old 9th Jun 2018, 8:01 pm   #5
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Default Re: Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

Yes apparently the shop is no longer there...I believe housing has been built on the site. Les was a real person....I wrote a dozen or so servicing articles for Television and met the editor a couple of times. We got talking about Les when his health was deteriorating and he was trying to sell the shop. I never met the Great Man himself though.
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Old 9th Jun 2018, 8:03 pm   #6
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Default Re: Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

A great person and writer plus a good engineer.Sadly I remember his writings during failing health at the end.

Always funny and as stated 100% correct.

While I never met him I did meet Ron Ham and Roger Bunney a few times at Chalkpits museum plus Geoff Arnold. Practical Wireless and RadioBygones fame.
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Old 9th Jun 2018, 8:03 pm   #7
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Default Re: Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

Certainly, according to the August 1993 obituary appended to the 1990 page of Paul's site referenced above, he wrote (as John Joe says above) under his own name of Les Lawry-Johns and S. Simon (Simple Simon). It says he also used the name of Peter Gaymead-Frazer.
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Old 9th Jun 2018, 8:07 pm   #8
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Default Re: Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Moll View Post
Certainly, according to the August 1993 obituary
Good grief was it really that long ago.....?
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Old 9th Jun 2018, 8:25 pm   #9
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Default Re: Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

Hi

Yes, I enjoyed reading Les's regular slot, learning a great deal in the process.
Some of the characters were a laugh, Sid and Grace, Mr Doubleday, Beardy and non Beardy, quite hilarious reading. I liked the one with an awkward customer and his awkward Bush A774 TV. I think it was called The shooting of Sam Magrew.

Regards
Symon.
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Old 9th Jun 2018, 9:26 pm   #10
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Default Re: Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

I too learned a lot from LLJs pages from the late 1960s as a young teenager still at school right through my days in the trade. I do believe his shop was in Gravesend Kent. Liked the way he always refered to his wife as Honeybunch and the cat was called Spock after Mr Spock from Star Trek.

Alan
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Old 9th Jun 2018, 10:35 pm   #11
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Default Re: Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

Such a shame he never lived to see the internet age and this forum. I think he'd be tickled pink to know that the articles he wrote so many years ago are still a useful source of information (and amusement) for the generation of enthusiasts locking horns with those self-same sets.

As long as the cry 'Beware the blue tants!' rings loud and true down the decades, the spirit of LLJ will always be with us.

Steve
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Old 9th Jun 2018, 11:57 pm   #12
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Default Re: Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

A real memory jogger. Always looked forward to reading his amusing anecdotes in "Television".
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Old 10th Jun 2018, 12:37 am   #13
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Default Re: Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

I too was a keen reader of his columns, mainly for the dry wit and observations. I read somewhere (possibly in R&EW) that in his later years he would try to sneak double-entendres and rather lurid references into his writings but was usually defeated by the sub editor.
Donald Bullock who came after Les was very funny, and even more entertaining than Les.
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Old 10th Jun 2018, 8:10 am   #14
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Default Re: Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

I never met Les although I used to live in Kent, but yes his writing was brilliant. I did meet Donald Bullock though, we went to visit some friends in Spain not far from where he lived so we had a good old chinwag about the 'old times'. I used to contribute to 'Television' myself in the day and spoke to the Editor on the phone but never actually met him.

Good old days then when you could actually repair things - and make a living out of it.

Peter
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Old 10th Jun 2018, 8:22 am   #15
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Default Re: Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

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Originally Posted by Andrew2 View Post
Donald Bullock who came after Les was very funny, and even more entertaining than Les.
I'm afraid I felt the opposite, though it might have seemed that way if you'd only experienced LLJ's last pieces, which were not to his usual standard at all.
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Old 10th Jun 2018, 8:42 am   #16
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Default Re: Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

The start of a legend. Practical Television September 1954.

We could all see the health of Les decline. It was very sad but some of the things he wrote in late life were hilarious.

Remember the Philips CTX with reversed red and green? It was the only chassis I encountered that magnetized so badly when the posistor failed that it completely reversed the beams perfectly!

I agree Nick, Les was tops!

We will probably all be there one day. John
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Old 10th Jun 2018, 9:30 am   #17
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Default Re: Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

Wasn't there reference to another character of his....Miss Nightly with the bow legs....or something like that....the bow legs actually referring to the style of TV stand....it was just the way he wrote it.
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Old 10th Jun 2018, 11:31 am   #18
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Talking Re: Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

His workshop repair articles were often peppered with humorous anecdotes. The one I will never forget is when his good lady wife visited him in his workshop.

"Keep the shop for me, please: I just need to pop out the back for a minute or so."
"Oh my! You're the most immodest man I've ever met! You wash your hands before you go to the toilet!

Brilliant!

Al.
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Old 11th Jun 2018, 11:53 am   #19
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Default Re: Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Heatercathodeshort View Post
Remember the Philips CTX with reversed red and green? It was the only chassis I encountered that magnetized so badly when the posistor failed that it completely reversed the beams perfectly!
That was a TX9, I saw it a couple of times myself. The thermistors usually rattled when you took them out if it had got that bad, odd that it didn't blow the fuse (not something a TX9 is normally backward in doing).

LLJ was 'the poor man's George Wilding' in my view but funny all the same. Do you think he got to use the headstone he started making:

Here lies the body of LLJ
He'd twist and turn, but couldn't get away

He didn't trust the stonemasons you see...
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Old 11th Jun 2018, 3:34 pm   #20
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Default Re: Who was Les Lawry-Johns?

...But the Reaper caught him in '93. (suggestion for final line)
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