The sad news was reported by Lynda Marshall in an email received on Sunday 21 August 2022:
‘Yet another obituary I’m afraid. Wendy has let me know that John Saville died peacefully yesterday in hospital with his family round him. He had Covid at the beginning of July which became a chest infection so was in hospital for a few weeks.
He was a lovely man who will be much missed.
Best wishes, Lynda’
John was born on 6 December 1938 and joined HMSO on 24 June 1963. He was promoted to Head of Graphic Design, in Norwich, on 17 November 1978.
Wendy Saville adds: John’s funeral will be at 1.15 on Monday 12th September at Earlham Crematorium, NR2 3RG. Family flowers only please but donations in John’s memory can be made to Nelson’s Journey which is a local charity helping children dealing with bereavement. John’s request was for bright colours. There will be a live feed which will remain for 28 days. If you are interested please let me know and I will give you the code.
Philip Marriage adds: I first set foot in the HMSO studio in 1964 and for the next thirty-three years I worked with John, either alongside him (my desk was next to his) or as a member of his team when he was promoted to senior designer, then as a team-leader myself when he moved up to Assistant Director and finally I became his deputy when he was promoted to Director of Graphic Design. Ironically we both found ourselves working together again in Electronic Publishing, in the post-privatisation chaos before finding the sanctuary of early retirement within two months of each other in early 1997.
John did not put his feet up, however. For many years he’d been involved with moderating the work of Art Colleges and working with outside bodies like City & Guilds and British Standards. He was a founder member of ‘Design Managers in Publishing’ a group of academic publishers who encouraged newly-qualified young designers to enter publishing rather than the glitzy world of advertising. In 2001 he contributed a chapter to From Layout to Graphic Design – the story of the HMSO studio – whilst working abroad as a design consultant in developing countries including Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
In the twenty-five years following HMSO, we continued to keep in touch, meeting for a lunchtime catch-up most months with other designers from HMSO and elsewhere. In 2011 he contracted Wegener’s Granulomatosis (a rare abnormal condition of the immune system) which laid him low for some time but with typical determination he came to terms with it and gradually resumed a near-normal life. Covid put everyone’s life on pause, particularly John’s, but earlier this year he resumed meeting with us again and it was when we were planning to meet at the beginning of July that we learnt that he was in hospital and very poorly. Sadly we never had to chance to see each other again.
I could not have had a better boss – and I hope, friend.
John at his desk in 1964 with David Napthine looking on, Jeffrey Tabberner and Peter Branfield behind
In the past few days we’ve received a number of tributes from John’s colleagues.
Fred Stubbs – who knew John for almost sixty years – recalled a special memory that when they both found themselves living in Brundall, after dispersal from London, they car-shared the daily commute and on retirement John gave Fred a book on British Villages, noting that between 1978 and 1994 they had travelled 20,000 miles together. Margery Kraszewski, phoned from France to say: “The best boss I ever had.” Clive McDonald remembered John from the late 1960s. “John was a rising star. I remember him being always calm, considerate and intellectually generous. Attributes which, when combined with his professional skills, made John, I thought, a man to listen to and to learn from, a man who, at the start of my career, opened my eyes and ears in many positive ways”. George Hammond considered the hallmarks of John’s leadership to be his dogged determination to raise the standards of creative design and to improve its standing at the heart of publishing, adding “On my departure, John wrote a very generous letter to thank me for my time at HMSO and I have and treasure that letter still”.
John in 1971 with Caroline White and Philip Marriage, Adrian Young behind.
Adrian Young, writing from Australia: “Looking back I realised how fortunate I had been to begin my career in a studio with designers of the calibre of John Saville. He used his skill and expertise to direct inexperienced designers like myself away from problems and hopefully towards elegant solutions to the publications we were designing.” Vera Brice always found John a very generous adviser on all printing/design matters and considered that period of the 60s to the 80s when HMSO Graphic Design, and all the associated bodies of design for print, set the stamp of excellence, were very much due to people like John emerging from the Central School of Arts & Crafts, and having the support of an excellent British print industry, adding “They were the best of times”. Cedric Knight recalled the help John gave him when he became freelance, introducing him to his brother Peter (Saville & Holdsworth) producing psychometric tests. Cedric went on to handle work for them for some years. Jayne Wilkinson (from Electronic Publishing): ‘We cycled passed his old home only this morning, and I was speaking about him to Graham, saying what a lovely chap he was and what a thoroughly fine and kind man he’d been to work for. John Hughes wrote: “Having him in your corner was invaluable. He recognised abilities in me I was unsure I had, and he was bl**dy good company”. Amongst the many good memories Lynda Sullivan had of John was that he was always scrupulously fair in his dealings with everyone. From Scotland, Jim Cairns wrote: “John was always there for his teams, and whose advice was invaluable and well-considered. It was always great to welcome him to the Edinburgh studio and his knowledge, experience and expertise could always be relied upon.” Ron Burnett added “He was very helpful and supportive of our Edinburgh studio when the need arose. A sad loss.” Nodge Carnegie recalled John’s design and organisation skills but particularly his kindness and generosity to others: “It benefitted me more than once but my clearest recollections involve colleagues who, for one reason or another, had even more reason to be grateful to him. As with so much else, John made little or no fuss and just “got on with it”. Though I knew John for a shorter time than some, his passing is a great source of sadness. There aren’t many like John Saville . . . more’s the pity.
Finally from John Miles (HMSO’s Typographic Adviser): “John Saville was one of the kindest, generous-hearted men I have ever known. Everyone who knew him will regret the passing of such a decent and honourable man”.
Perfectly said.
John in 1991 sharing a joke with Dee Smallridge, Paul Freeman and John Major