5:25pm Wednesday 25th August 2010
SILVERWARE made by a Crewe craftsman is to go under the hammer at the Peter Wilson auction house in Nantwich to help pay for his care in old age.
John Reginald ‘Jack’ Burrows was a gifted man capable of turning sheet metal into the wing of a vintage Bentley or the body of an elegant Georgian style silver teapot.
Sadly, a stroke in 2008 left him partially paralysed and while he remains in good spirits at 82, his metalworking days are over.
Now, to enhance his care in a Crewe nursing home, Jack’s family has instructed the auctioneers to sell the remaining pieces of silver from his workshop.
On offer in the auction on September 8 and 9 will be lots ranging from an elegant pair of George II style candlesticks to two groups of amusing figures of Wild West cowboys.
The collection is expected to fetch around £5,000.
John Reginald Burrows was born in Staffordshire and joined his father in his cobbler’s business.
Jack met his first wife, Elaine following World War Two, while they were both on national service.
She died in 1998 and it was during her illness that he pursued his silversmithing.
He married his second wife seven years ago, his childhood sweetheart Vera.
Having lost contact with her for 50 years, they met again at a social function and recognised each other immediately.
They were married at Crewe Hall and Mrs Burrows, now 80, lives in Alsager, while Jack is a resident at Station House in Crewe.
The couple’s son-in-law, Anthony Daniels, said: “For a very fit and creative octogenarian it has been a very cruel blow not being able to continue to ply his trade.
“It was not the owning of the object for him, it was the challenge of creating a small work of art that gave him the buzz.
“For instance, he would spend about 800 man hours creating a coffee pot, but could not bear to stand in a supermarket queue for more than a few minutes without becoming impatient.
“His DIY skills were impatient and appalling but overall he is a perfect old school gentleman.”
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