Trickett, John

John Trickett was born August 16, 1937 in Sale, England, where he grew up alongside his older sisters. Sale is part of the Greater Manchester area, so when John was growing up during the war he experienced the Blitz, and he has memories of the shelters and gas masks and rationing – and of the American airmen on a nearby base.  John’s father worked for the British rail system during the war:  he was classified as an “essential service” as he worked in a signal box and he was exempted from the military draft. John attended the Sale Grammar School for Boys, where he developed a love for rugby.  He left school at 16 to go to work – his help was needed to support the family. Soon enough though he turned 18, and that meant it was time for the National Service. John was called up in 1956, and he trained for the Royal Armoured Corps, and he was assigned to the 14th/20th King’s Hussars.  He did a deployment to Germany during that time, and he was on alert during the Suez Canal Crisis. John’s main task in the regiment was administration though, and as he recalls his major duty was sitting behind a desk! John returned to the textile industry, and over a lifetime he built a reputation in that field, one which eventually saw him to come to Canada and act as an adviser in the 1980s Free Trade Agreement, for which he was thanked by then PM Brian Mulroney.  John Trickett was interviewed by Scott Masters at his home in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec in July 2026.