J. J. Wrathall - Extracts from the Lancaster Guardian

John James WRATHALL

Extracts from the Lancaster Guardian.

Friday 3 April 1947 Page 4

HALTON ACCOUNTANTS IMPORTANT POST

Mr. J.J. Wrathall,A.S.A.A., C.A., (SR), of Bulawayo, son of Mr. and Mrs. T. Wrathall, of Halton, Lancaster, has been appointed Secretary to a South African public company, with branches in Northern and Southern Rhodesia, at a salary of £1,250 a year, rising to £2,000 within two years. He was educated at the Lancaster Royal Grammar School, and served his articles with the late partnership of Messrs. Clarke, Clarkson and Howarth. During the war he served on The South African Mounted Police Reserve.

Friday 12 December 1975 Page 1 (with photograph)

LOCAL MAN TO BE NEXT RHODESIA PRESIDENT

A Lancaster-born man is to be the next president of Rhodesia.
He is Lancaster Royal Grammar School old boy Mr. John Wrathall, at present Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. He was named on Wednesday to succeed Mr. Clifford Dupont when he retires at the end of this month after 10 years as president.
Mr. Wrathall, 62, a qualified chartered accountant, went out to Rhodesia in 1936 and served with the income tax department. He later worked in private practice.
He first entered Parliament as the United Rhodesian Party candidate for Bulawayo South in 1954.
Mr. Wrathall’s sister and mother, formerly of Halton, live at Slackhead, Milnthorpe.

Friday 28 May 1976 Page 1

LANCASTRIANS IN RHODESIA SEND A MESSAGE BACK HOME

Daily examples of deliberate distortions and half-truths are being carried in the headlines of the world’s newspapers and radio and television networks about the situation in Rhodesia, say a group of former Lancaster residents now living in the African country.
The group of nine, who include the President of Rhodesia, Lancaster-born Mr. John Wrathall, have written a letter to the “Guardian” from Salisbury to tell local people of the real situation in Rhodesia.
“The psychological war being waged against us through many of the news media of the world has escalated to such a level of misinterpretation that many observers outside this country find it difficult to separate fact from fiction” they say.
“The initial feelings of unease which assailed us and our friends abroad have now turned to anger at the perpetrators of these attempts to undermine the morals of our country and its supporters.
“There are no massacres and bloodbaths, there are no massive terrorist force build-ups, there is no panic or hysteria and there are no queues of people leaving the country. Many of the photographs and Press reports sent to us by our friends bear no relationship whatever to the real situation in Rhodesia. In fact, some of the photographs and films were not even taken in Rhodesia.
“Instead, these journalists find themselves in a country where they can travel safely with no fears of bomb explosions. They can walk through the cities at night with no fear of being mugged. They can spend a day in the country and watch the soil being tilled and the crops gathered. They can go to restaurants or nightclubs and dine well for less than in most other countries. They do not find sandbags or steel shutters over windows nor are they searched before entering.”
Mr. Wrathall and his colleagues say that they find black and white Rhodesians mingling peacefully together and carrying on with their day-to-day jobs as they have done for many years. They find that there are sporting events, theatres, cinemas, horse racing and many other facets of entertainment available to them as they would elsewhere.
“They do see troops coming and going from their barracks”, they point out, “because there is an anti-terrorist was being waged on our borders, and there are shortages – of things like razor blades, black peppers, light bulbs and the more exotic foods and toiletries.”
The letter is signed by J.J. Wrathall, M.J. Gardner, W.H. Fogg, R.M. Mowbray, A. Mawson, B. Yarwood, J. Johnson, G.R. Frame and W.G. Eaton.

Friday 1^st September 1978 Page 1

LOCAL MAN WHO BECAME RHODESIA’S PRESIDENT DIES.

Former Lancaster man Mr. John Wrathall, who has been president of Rhodesia since 1976, died suddenly in Salisbury yesterday. He was 65.
Mr. Wrathall, an old boy of Lancaster Royal Grammar School, held several important posts, including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, before becoming president.
He leaves his wife, Doreen, two sons, Jonathan and Christopher, and a grand-daughter, all living in Rhodesia.
His sister, Mrs. Irene Rogers, who lives at Slackhead, Milnthorpe, said “It has come as a great shock to us all.”