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Mr John S Clipson
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Mr. J. S. Clipson, the new chairman of the Rushden Council, has had a great deal of experience in public work, and is no stranger to the town's premier honour, for he has twice capably filled the chairmanship of the Council. Mr. Clipson was born at Glendon, near Kettering, and came to Rushden in 1884. But in 1879 Mr. Clipson was in the near neighbourhood, for he started business in Higham Ferrers at that time. He went to Canada and America with some machinery in 1883 for a Northamptonshire Machinery Company, and returned in 1884, and removed his business to High-street, Rushden. In 1889 he further enlarged the business, and purchased the property in Church-street from the late Mr. Foskett, and built up the present business.
His public life on the Urban District Council extends in a line, broken only by two years, from its commencement. At the first election there were 29 candidates, and Mr. Clipson was a good sixth. He soon showed the value of his services to the town, and in 1902-3 he was vice-chairman and chairman respectively, and the following two years was again elected to similar honours. He has worked with conspicuous success on all committees of the Council.
Mr. Clipson is a musician of considerable pretensions, and had a great deal to do with making the musical history of the town. He has been choirmaster and treasurer of the Wellingborough-road Mission Church since its commencement some 20 years ago, and was "the father" of the orchestral part of the old Choral Society. He played the 'cello and the first violin, but of late he has not played very much in public. In fact, we believe the last time he played was his 'cello solo at the ''Titanic" concert at the Royal Theatre. It is as a member of the Water Board that his greatest value as a public servant is proved. Mr. Clipson takes a great interest in the work, and his knowledge of the machinery and the plant used makes him an invaluable consultant. Mr. Clipson is a keen Liberal in politics, and has held all the offices in the association from the chairmanship. He was for some time a member of the Education Committee, but resigned in favour of Mr. Freeman. We hope Mr. Clipson will have a pleasant year of office.
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Extract: The Wellingborough News, 6th June 1902
The End of the Boer War - How the News Was Received
The news first reached Rushden through the medium of the “Evening Telegraph.” Mr. C. G. Jowitt, of the “Argus” Office, Rushden, was spending the day in Kettering, and, hearing the news in the morning, naturally thought of his fellow-townsmen in Rushden. Remembering that Mr. J. S. Clipson, vice-chairman of the Urban Council, had the telephone fixed in his house, he rang up that gentleman, and gave him the official news. Mr. Clipson at once took steps for spreading the tidings, and in a very short time the town was ringing with the news. He first posted the information on the board outside the “Argus” Office, and, though the street was comparatively deserted at the time, within ten minutes a large crowd had assembled, and great enthusiasm prevailed. The bells of the church were rung, and the Volunteer and Mission bands gave musical expression to the general feeling of rejoicing.
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The Rushden Echo, 21st February, 1919, transcribed by Jim Hollis
Rushden Councillor to Retire
Mr. J. S. Clipson, who has been a member of the Rushden Urban Council since its commencement, has announced that he will not seek re-election. Mr. Clipson was elected when the Council was first formed. At that contest there were 29 candidates, and Mr. Clipson was sixth on the poll. Since then he has never occupied a lower position, and on one occasion he was the second of the successful candidates. He has been chairman of the Council for three years, and for three years he was the vice-chairman. He was the chairman of the Council during the year in which the Public Library was opened and he presided at the formal opening by the Marquis of Northampton. Only two other members have served during the whole period of the Council’s existence, viz., Mr. Fred Knight and Mr. John Claridge. Mr. Clipson has been a member of the Rushden and Higham Ferrers Joint Water Board ever since its formation, and he is also a member of the Free Library Committee.
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