Inviting the Mayor to Events and Functions To invite the Mayor to your function or event please fill in the Mayoral Briefing form or send details to: Civic Administration Team, Tamworth Borough Council, Marmion House, Lichfield Street, Tamworth, B79 7BZ Tel: 01827 709265. Email: MayorsDiary-@tamworth.gov.uk. We will need at least three weeks’ notice if you would like to invite the Mayor to your event.

Learn more about the Mayors of Tamworth in our Mayoral brochure.

The Mayor’s Charity:  Mayors chosen Charity this year St Editha’s Church Tamworth and Tamworth & District Civic Society. To find out more about the charity fund, please phone 01827 709265.

John Harper - Biography

John Harper is a former journalist, history writer, musician, actor and club licensee who has lived and worked in Tamworth his entire life. He is well-known locally for penning articles for the Tamworth Herald newspaper, including a weekly history column along with other heritage-based projects.

He was elected to serve as a Bolehall councillor in 2021, becoming Mayor of Tamworth for 2023-24.

Born on September 26, 1958, John is the eldest of two sons of the late Tom Harper (1922-91), a Tamworth coalminer, and the former Minnie Higginson (1925-2009).  Both parents’ families hail from the Bolehall/Amington area.

John is married to Maureen and has three stepchildren and three step-grandchildren.

In his life, John as sang with Tamworth Parish Church Choir, once appearing on the BBC TVs ‘Songs of Praise’ and was a Cub and later a Scout, before starting a career with the Tamworth Herald.

During his time at the Tamworth Herald, John wrote a weekly history column and in 2002 produced a hardback book ‘Tamworth Past and Present’, which was republished in paperback in 2008. In the early 2000s he narrated a series of history videos for Heritage Films.

In 2004, under the chairmanship of fellow Herald journalist Phil Shanahan, John played a leading role on the Colin Grazier Committee which achieved international recognition for the WWII Tamworth sailor who lost his life in 1941 whilst capturing vital Enigma codebooks from a sinking U-Boat. A monument created by renowned sculptor Walenty Pytel was commissioned and stands today in the centre of Tamworth.

John left the Herald’s editorial department in 2007 but continued to write for the newspaper on a freelance basis. This enabled him and Maureen to manage bars at several Tamworth clubs.

Music has played a hugely important role in John’s life. He was taught bass guitar by an older cousin and made his first public appearances in 1968-69 with four-piece group Blue Pity. Although only aged 11 (his fellow band members were in their mid-teens) he played just two local gigs and immediately felt ‘at home’ performing on stage.

From the lates 1970s John could be seen and heard playing bass or rhythm guitar with local groups Blue Eclipse and Split Decision at clubs and other venues around the town and beyond. Giving performances across the country.

Throughout the 1970s and ‘80s John also appeared in many stage productions with Tamworth Little Theatre.

For over 20 years John served on the Tamworth Conservation Area Advisory Committee, advising the borough council on planning applications. In 2000 he was a founder member of Tamworth Heritage Trust, serving as its chairman until 2012, and in 2015 helped relaunch Tamworth and District Civic Society.

On being elected in 2021 to the Bolehall seat, he promised voters he would do all he could to “create a caring, compassionate society which supports innovation, enterprise and technology but cares for the vulnerable; advocates traditional British values, and is committed to governance through fairness, integrity and respect.”

John passionately believes that imaginative promotion of Tamworth’s Anglo-Saxon associations with Offa, Æthelflæd ‘the Lady of the Mercians’, and Athelstan, the first King of England, would encourage a sense of civic pride among young people as well as making the town a vibrant, attractive ‘destination’ for tourists. Major historical connections with the likes of Sir Robert Peel, Thomas Guy and Colin Grazier could be similarly exploited for the benefit of the modern town.

Over the years John has given many talks and been featured on TV and radio, invariably speaking about his favourite subject - Tamworth!