ONE of Liskeard’s most respected elders has died at the age of 97.
John Lewis Rapson was a photographer whose long career began when, as a wireless operator serving in the RAF during the second world war, he acquired a camera, and began to think about adding another string to his bow.
He ran his business in Liskeard for four decades from 1947 to 1987, and began a dedicated commitment not only to capturing contemporary events as they happened, but also to conserving the town’s history: he was the longest serving member of the Liskeard Old Cornwall Society, founding its archives, and also gave many years of service to the Liskeard and District Museum.
John, an Honorary Burgess of Liskeard since 1999, had been made a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedh in 1974 and his bardic name, Covathor Derevyans, signified “Recorder of Buildings”.
As well as his meticulous attention to conserving history, John was also well known to generations of Liskeard people as their family photographer: Rapson’s Studio was a household name in the town. He took almost 2,000 wedding photographs over the course of his career, keeping each set of negatives on file. In 2014, at the age of 91, John attended and photographed the Diamond Wedding anniversary of Liskeard couple Philip and Sheila Whiting, having been their wedding photographer 60 years previously.
With almost ten decades of life in Liskeard, and the conviction that preserving a record of important events, people and places was one of the most valuable things he could do for future generations, John amassed a collection of thousands of photographs, and an equally deep knowledge of the changes in the town over the course of the 20th century, leading him to be the “go-to” person for anyone with questions on local history and happenings. His collection of negatives and records has been gifted to the Liskeard and District Museum.
Thankyou John Rapson, for your legacy to Liskeard, and rest in peace.