John Albert Barrow (30 August 1938 – 29 September 2026)
It is with sadness that St John’s College has learned of the passing of John Albert Barrow on 29 September 2026. Not only have generations of Barrows been educated at St John’s, but the Barrow family business was also responsible for the construction of many of the iconic College buildings throughout its history, working alongside Sir Herbert Baker and Frank Fleming in the early days.
The Barrow family, known for excellence in carpentry and joinery, emigrated from the UK to Johannesburg in 1897, when it was little more than a dusty mining town. The first member of the family to attend St John’s College was Herbert George Barrow in 1927.
John Barrow, the third member of the Barrow family to enter St John’s, attended the College between 1949 and 1956. During this time, he excelled on the sports field. He played football at the Prep, where he was awarded Colours, and then went on to play for the First XV, earning Full Colours. He also captained the Second XI Cricket team, which was said to ‘keep their enthusiasm to the end, thanks to the excellent captaincy of J.A. Barrow’. He was deeply involved in College life and was elected as a House Prefect of Thomson House in 1955.
After leaving St John’s, Barrow built a successful career in the family business after his time at St John’s. He qualified as a quantity surveyor from the University of the Witwatersrand, and joined Barrow Construction in 1963. In 1967 he was elected to the executive committee of the Witwatersrand Master Builders Association (MBA). Two years later, he was appointed to the executive committee of the Building Industries Federation of South Africa (BIFSA) and, in 1970, he was made an employers’ representative on the Industrial Council for the Building Industry. He became president of the Witwatersrand MBA in 1975 (the third Barrow to hold the post since 1921) and in 1980 was elected president of BIFSA. He is remembered as a man of quiet but resolute disposition, who guided with a firm, democratic hand.
Barrow Construction has been an integral part of the St John’s family and history since the College’s early days. It was the company selected by Baker and Fleming to construct their masterful designs at St John’s College, including the Memorial Chapel. Over the years, it is the Barrows who have been called upon to add to the original buildings – the Deane Yates Science Block, the Fred England Centre at the Prep, the boarding refurbishment, and the Gym, to name a few. Beyond St John’s, the Barrows have also been involved in the construction of some of the country’s most significant buildings, including the University of the Witwatersrand’s East Campus. Barrow Construction is still headed by the Barrow family, five generations later.
John Barrow leaves behind a legacy that is bound up with the building of South Africa, and particularly with St John’s College, both through its physical landscape and through the generations of Barrow boys who have passed through the College gates.
Our thoughts go out to the Barrow family, as well as to John Barrow’s many friends across the country.
The memorial service will take place in the Memorial Chapel at St John’s College on Wednesday, 21 October at 15h00.
