Gallon, John Thomas (1879-1959)

Transcription of obituary published in the Minutes of Conference

JOHN THOMAS GALLON: born at South Shields in 1879. In his youth he gave evidence of unusual mental gifts and found a congenial sphere in the teaching profession. Trained at Hartley College, his abilities as a student and his social qualities won for him much distinction. In 1901 he was appointed to Stockton, and later to Willington, Hartlepool, Hexham, Newcastle upon Tyne, South Shields, Grimsby, and West Auckland. In the Newcastle District, he rendered for several years excellent service as Secretary of the Candidates’ Committee. 

His range of interests covered a wide field. The realms of music, painting, and literature were well known to him, and throughout his ministry he brought the fruits of his wide knowledge and experience of them into the service of his Master. He cherished a high ideal of preaching and was known for the excellence of his exposition of the Scriptures. As a pastor, he gained the confidence of those in need as one who, wholly dedicated to the Lord, loved them with a love like His. In every place in which he exercised his ministry there were many who gave thanks to God for every remembrance of him.

During his last years, which he spent near Taunton, he endured much physical weakness, and he died on 13 October 1959, in the eightieth year of his age and the fifty-eighth of his ministry.

Family

John was born on 23 February 1879 at South Shields, Co. Durham, to parents John Gallon, a railway fireman (1891), and Mary Parker.

He married Kate Ellis (1880-1945) in early 1906 at South Shields, Co. Durham. Census returns identify two children.

• Wilfred Ellis (1906-1997) – a bank clerk (1939)
• Thomas Parker (1910-1993) – a school teacher (1939)

John died on 13 October 1959 in the Taunton Registration District, Somerset.

Circuits

• Hartley
• 1901 Stockton
• 1906 Willington
• 1909 Hartlepool
• 1914 Hexham
• 1918 Newcastle I
• 1924 S Shields
• 1933 Grimsby Flottergate
• 1937 Newcastle NW
• 1942 W Auckland
• 1946 Newport IoW (S)

References

Methodist Minutes 1960/184

W Leary, Directory of Primitive Methodist Ministers and their Circuits, 1990

Census Returns and Births, Marriages & Deaths Registers