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| Tragic death of inventor and
eccentric neighbour |
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John Shilling in the lead at Parliament Hill track
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HE was a well-known figure around the streets of his West Hampstead
home, but John Shilling allowed only a few of his neighbours to
get to know him well.
In March 2004, Mr Shilling was brutally attacked in Swiss Cottage.
Three months later he died in the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead
after becoming infected with the deadly super-bug MRSA. He was 71.
His attacker, James O’Donoghue, 21, of Matrix Road, Kilburn,
was cleared by an Old Bailey jury of murder or manslaughter earlier
this month but convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
He was jailed for seven years.
Friends who lived near him in homes run by the Fairhazel Cooperative,
which covers Compayne, Fairhazel and Canfield Gardens in West Hampstead,
sat through the 10-day trial as the full horror of the events that
led to Mr Shilling’s death was revealed at the Old Bailey.
They recalled a pleasant, quiet, if slightly eccentric, man whose
work as a designer had taken him around the world, and who had worked
on maps for the first successful Everest expedition.
A keen cyclist, he collected junk to create his own inventions,
and had been a serious middle-distance runner for Highgate Harriers
as a young man.
He had even raced against Roger Bannister, the first man to run
a mile under four minutes.
Mike Barnett, who lived in a flat below Mr Shilling for 15 years,
revealed how on the day before he died he had begged Mr Barnett
to take him home from the Royal Free.
He said: “He looked at me with serious eyes and said ‘can
you take me out of this hospital?’”
Mr Barnett added: “He had travelled the world and used to talk
about being caught in a sandstorm in Iraq during the Iraq-Iran war.
“It was wonderful to live near the eccentric man. He used to
make things and I once saw him in the street at 4am testing a recumbent
bicycle he had built.”
“He was a loner. In retrospect, I wish I’d asked him a
few more questions because he obviously had an incredible story
to tell.”
Janet Coles, who lives in Canfield Gardens, said Mr Shilling –
who was wearing seven jumpers when an ambulance arrived at the scene
of the attack – chose to live without central heating.
She said he had moved to the area to live with his parents as they
grew older and, once his father had died, he had devoted his time
to caring for his mother.
She said: “He owned several bikes and had cycled the length
and breadth of the country. He had travelled on his bike through
the Far East and ridden through war zones.
“He was a shy and gentle man but he was also tough and fiercely
independent, usually politely declining offers of help. He hated
meals-on-wheels. We all miss our modern, eccentric neighbour.”
Family friend Peter Cundall, a writer, described Mr Shilling as
a “decent, honourable and trusting soul”.
Neighbour Peggy Burton, who lives in Canfield Gardens, would take
him meals.
She said: “He was funny and friendly. He looked ill so I started
taking him my grandmother’s vegetable soup. At first he wouldn’t
answer the door but soon he liked me coming round.
“He used to go around on his bicycle picking up knick-knacks
from shops. He had thousands of articles, from clockwork toys to
steel chairs. He was a collector and an inventor – he once
rigged up his own security system and made an exercise bike.”
Joe Parham, also of Canfield Gardens, summed up the community’s
feelings about the tragedy.
She said: “It doesn’t really matter that he (James O’Donoghue)
got off the manslaughter charge. His life is ruined. His family’s
life is ruined. John is gone. No one wins.”
TOM FOOT
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Angelino's finest are put to the test
WE came across Angelino Wines, sandwiched between two colourful and
aggressively self-promoting Australian wine sellers, at Islington’s
London Wine Event at the end of October.
Its owner is Farrell Anglin, whose imagination was caught by a lecture
on the history of wine making at Southgate College.
FULL STORY
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