In memory – John Retter (1952-2025)

Liveryman John Retter sadly passed away on 29^th September 2025. John was proposed by PM Stephen Hammerton and seconded by PM Martin Payne.

He had a long fight against illness but his passing was peaceful and his family were by his side.

John was a renowned photographer of vintage cars and sports cars and was often seen at events such as the Goodwood Revival. Clearly admired and respected by so many in the trade, this excerpt was taken from Auto Addicts :

Classic racing photographer John Retter has gained international recognition by winning a significant award with the Guild of Photographers.

The Guild of Photographers is the highly regarded national photographic body whose members are dedicated to enhancing their skills in the art, craft and profession of photography.

It runs an Image of the Month competition, and received around 10,000 entries during 2015. From all those, an image by John Retter was selected Image of the Year winner of the Events, Sports & Action genre – a remarkable achievement when one considers the number and standard of the entries.

The winning photo was taken during qualifying of the Woodcote Trophy on Friday at Silverstone Classic. The cars are at the end of the straight going past the National Pits and just turning into Copse in heavy rain.

The Award was presented at the Guild’s Awards night at Crewe Hall (a stunning Jacobean mansion in Cheshire), earlier this week.

Steve Thirsk (Director of the Guild) said that he is “both proud and delighted that John Retter has achieved this recognition with his striking image. The Guild has very demanding standards when judging photographic competitions. The judging is undertaken by a panel of internationally recognised experts from a variety of photographic backgrounds, so John Retter quite rightly should be delighted with his extraordinary achievement’.

Members of the Guild are committed to achieving the highest standards of professionalism and to a journey of continuing professional development.

In addition to winning ‘Image of the year’ John received four other certificates on the night, including winning the ‘Events, Sport & Action’ category and John was runner up in the overall prize covering all categories.

Furthermore, and closer to home, the image of the Coachmakers’ Charter signed by Charles II, that is often on display at our dinners was photographed by John. The opening pages of the Coachmaker History also contains that image of our charter and authority to act as a Worshipful Company.