Bucket list blast from the past for 92-year-old retired quarry site manager

John ‘Jack’ Higham, originally from Dinnington, was a special guest at Tarmac’s Whitwell Quarry, thanks to his daughter Ruth Dean’s efforts to ensure he is able to work through the bucket list.

As the first man on site when it opened in 1957, Jack led his team to establish the quarry, which included cutting out an opening in a hedge to mark and build the access road which still exists today.

Ruth said: “I’m so grateful to Tarmac for showing my dad around the site he used to run all those years ago.

“It was a really great trip down memory lane and the perfect opportunity for him to show me the workplace that he talks of so fondly.

“Dad said that when he first started at the quarry, he was just given a duffle coat to keep warm – there was no such thing as personal protective equipment back in the ’50s – so seeing him wearing a high-vis jacket and a hard hat really shows how much times have changed.

“He also recalls lifting much of the original heavy machinery by hand, which sometimes meant a team of 48 men lifting equipment weighing about 25 tonnes and pulling it into place with steel ropes.”

Jack was taken on a tour by quarry manager Dannika Bannon, who showed him how the site has evolved over the years and its plans for the future, with Jack saying how pleasantly surprised he was to see a female manager on site, something unheard of in the 1950s.

Dannika said: “When we heard about Jack’s bucket list, we were delighted to offer him a tour of the site he helped to set up. It’s been so rewarding to meet him and reflect on his great career, but also the contribution he has made to Whitwell Quarry which remains an important asset for the area and the wider construction industry.”

Next on Jack’s bucket list is a trip to Plymouth, where he completed his National Service.