We are incredibly saddened to share the news of the passing of Practical Caravan‘s much-loved colleague and respected technical guru John Wickersham. John died last Saturday morning following a typically hard-fought battle with illness.

He started caravanning back in the 1950s and was a true institution within the caravanning world, having contributed to all of the major club and independent magazines, authored the ‘bible’ of the hobby, The Caravan Manual, first published in 1993, and become particularly well-known in recent years for his entertaining and informative appearances on The Caravan Channel, which is co-produced by Practical Caravan.

We are sure many of you will have enjoyed reading his articles over the years he contributed to our magazine, as well as meeting him and seeing him in action on stage at our Reader Rallies.

On screen, as on paper, John oozed passion for the subject, with his deep knowledge backed up by a tangible enthusiasm and an innate ability to make the most complicated technical stories easy to understand, thereby sharing his knowledge with the caravanning community.

“Working with John over the past two years has been a genuine pleasure,” said Practical Caravan‘s Group Editor Alastair Clements. “His enthusiasm and passion for the subject were infectious, and his knowledge of the technical side was peerless. His dedication, professionalism and friendship will be sorely missed by the staff and readership of Practical Caravan.”

“To work with he was a consummate professional, incredibly knowledgeable and always enthusiastic,” added Kiaron Finnegan, Head of Channels at Information TV. “On a personal level he was a wonderful man, a joy to be around and he will be very badly missed by all.”

We send our deepest sympathies to his family and friends.