Stone Federation has said farewell to two of its strongest supporters of many years as John Bysouth leaves the Technical Committee and the Executive and Julian Limentani leaves the panel of judges in the Natural Stone Awards.

Both of them have been active supporters of Stone Federation in their own ways for longer than either of them cares to remember.

John, who has been in the industry 58 years, is a Past President of Stone Federation and was the first recipient of the Duke of Gloucester Gold Medal in 2010 for his services to the stone industry.

To commemorate John’s last Technical Committee meeting he was presented with a cake decorated with a hard-hat, mason’s mallets, chisel, Stone Federation logos and a lot of ‘stones’.

All John’s friends and colleagues wrote fond farewells in a specially produced card with a limerick penned for the occasion by Stone Federation staff. John was very touched and grateful for all the kind words of his colleagues.

He brought along to his final meeting some of the original documents produced by the Technical Committee when he first sat on it and amused his colleagues by recalling some of the ‘interesting’ times he had spent as part of the committee. He remembered the time when he was running the Technical Helpline that he had had to explain to a caller that the damp patch on the stone walls of their converted stables was not rising damp but residue horse urine.

At John’s last Executive Meeting, Stone Federation President David Ellis presented John with a beautiful carved column and a special edition ‘Daily Stone’, recording some of John’s highlights.

David said that John was such an important individual in the industry and was so well respected by all his colleagues that he will be sadly missed, although he would still be called upon from time to time for his words of wisdom.

Julian Limentani, meanwhile, has taken part in the judging of the Stone Federation’s Stone Awards for the last time and his colleagues on the judging panel have bade him a sad farewell.

John Burton, Chairman of the Judges, said that Julian had been “the bedrock, or should I say, the corner stone” of the Judging Panel and went on to say his wit and wisdom would be missed.

Stone Federation is exceedingly grateful to Julian for his sterling efforts in travelling the length and breadth of the country to look at the entries.

Julian was presented with a beautifully carved miniature stone column as a memento of the years he has spent as a Stone Awards Judge.

Julian said he had enjoyed his time and involvement in the Awards and would miss this labour of love. He said he was privileged to have been able to visit some lovely stone projects that he might not otherwise have seen.

Julian Limentani, BSc, BArch, RIBA, FRSA, is a Graduate of Bath University. He started his architectural career with Marshall Sisson Architects of Huntingdon in 1973 and has been a Partner in the firm since 1979.

He has been the Cathedral Architect of Peterborough Cathedral since 1989, where he is also an Honorary Lay Canon.

Among his other appointments, he is Chairman of the Rochester Cathedral Fabric Advisory Committee and Chairman of the Cathedral Architects Association. He, like John Bysouth, is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Masons.