Plymouth chooses Mayflower 400 Town Crier
26th July 2019
Plymouth has chosen a new Town Crier for the Mayflower 400 commemorative year, following a community-run competition.
John Pitt emerged victorious after two hours of competition and was presented with the title by Lord Mayor of Plymouth, Councillor Richard Ball at the Guildhall last night.
John, who works in Devonport Dockyard, was supported by family, friends and colleagues amongst the enthusiastic crowd. It was a close fought battle between 11 entrants, with David Green finishing as runner up - he will be Deputy Town Crier.
Reacting to his new role in the city, John commented: “I’m pretty excited and a bit overwhelmed really. It’s been great to be in the Guildhall and the support from the mentors and organisers has been fantastic.”
Asked how he practised for the event, John said: “I think I’ve been practising for this all my life as I’ve always been fairly big and loud. I have all the guys from work here and I think I’ve surprised them."
The competition to find a town crier was a Mayflower 400 Community Sparks initiative - a partnership project between Mayflower 400, Plymouth Culture, Plymouth City Council, The Box, Plymouth and Vital Sparks.
Find out more about Mayflower 400 here.