Tributes paid to 'singing councillor' who was 'true gentleman' of Aldridge politics

Former Walsall Council and Conservative party member John Rochelle died last month at the age of 86 following a short illness.

A butcher by trade, Mr Rochelle was first elected to the authority to represent Aldridge Central and South ward in 2002 and served a total of 17 years before his retirement in 2019.

Colleagues paid warm tributes to him at a full council meeting on Monday citing his dedication and commitment to helping other people.

Leader Mike Bird said: “It’s very sad John passed away after a short illness. He’d spent almost 50 years working for the Conservative Party and many years as the chairman and vice-chairman of Aldridge-Brownhills Conservative Association.

“People will remember him from his singing voice. I know he enjoyed his retirement by his participation in the Shelfield Male Voice Choir.

“John and I had known each other over that period and he was an exceptionally good councillor in Aldridge and a good member of the Conservative club.

“I haven’t asked Val what she’s going to do with the sheath of letters he’d got from Margaret Thatcher but I’m sure they will perhaps one day appear on the Antique’s Roadshow.”

Councillor John Murray said he first met Mr Rochelle when he moved to Aldridge in 1979 and joined the association, immediately being plunged into the election campaign that saw Richard Shepherd elected to Aldridge Brownhills and Margaret Thatcher becoming Prime Minister.

He said: “John and I worked together continuously in Aldridge Brownhills over the following 44 years.

“John remained not just a political ally and a mentor but a close friend as well. I can’t remember ever having a cross word with John.

“By profession John was a master butcher and he had a shop in Kingswinford where he worked most of his life.

“His profession came in very handy when we held Conservative Party functions. John was a committed Christian and he enjoyed singing.

“His singing will mostly be remembered at election times. Every year, without fail, John and I would tour the constituency with a loud speaker fixed to the roof of my car.

“John would give our various political messages but whenever we didn’t get much of a response, John would burst into song – usually something from one of the West End shows – and sure enough faces would suddenly appear to applaud and then listen to his messages.

“John was a genuine and decent person who never had a bad word to say about anybody. He will be sadly missed by me and all his former colleagues.”

And Aldridge councillor Tim Wilson added: “I want to say how much of a true gentleman John was. I remember joining the association back in 2010 and one of the first people I met was John Rochelle.

“Like many others he was friendly, welcoming and very supportive and helped me progress. I was pleased to have him as a ward colleague, mentor and more importantly as a friend.

“I was always amazed when I was out with John and the people we bumped into who knew him and the many stories they gave me of how he helped their families.

“He was truly a great ward member and clearly very passionate about helping people. He will be sorely missed.”

Tributes were also paid by Walsall Labour group leader Aftab Nawaz and independent councillor Pete Smith.