John Kenton Britten

John Britten was born on August 1st 1950 at 11:50pm by Bruce and Ruvae Britten in Christchurch. John was born a twin but is the oldest child. John’s only sibling is his twin sister Marguerite. John made a motorbike out of scraps in his shed. His childhood at school was not easy as john was a dyslexic person. When John had to do exams he would have to get someone to read him the questions. When John was a young boy he began making go-karts out of packing cases.

At the age of twelve he saved enough money to buy gas engine for his motor bike. When he was thirteen, he and his friend restored an old Indian Scout motorcycle that they found in the ditch. As a child you would have a hero and, well John’s heroes were all New Zealanders. They were Richard Pearse (Pioneer Aviator) Bill Hamilton (Father of the jet boat) Bruce McLaren (Champion driver and founder of the McLaren formula one team) and Burt Munro (World record motorcycle the speediest and subject film world’s fastest Indian).

As he has loads of heroes in his short lifetime, John was regularly and favorably compared with all the heroes in his own way. As a teenager he already started applying himself to a mechanic, he had restored a 1927 Indian Scout motorbike and a derelict truck, but the interesting thing was that John would drive himself to school. But thought John had a disability that didn't stop him from becoming a versatile and a creative designer that New Zealand has ever seen!

John completed a four-year mechanical engineering course at night school before joining ICT as a cadet draughtsman giving him a wide range of work experience including mould design, pattern design, metal spinning and various mechanical engineering designs.

In 1982 John Britten married Kirsteen Price and had three kids named Sam, Isabelle and Jessica. In 1995 John was diagnosed with inoperable cancer. John Britten had a brief illness related to skin cancer called inoperable cancer. On September 9th 1995 John sadly passed away at the age of 45 years old, Thousands of people from all over New Zealand and some from the other side of the world filled the church and spilled into Cathedral Square.

John's name: John Kenton Britten

Birth Date: August 1st 1950 at 11:50

Death: September 5, 1995

Siblings: 1 twin sister named Marguerite 

Wife: Kirsteen Price 

Children: Sam, Isabelle, Jessica. 

Parents: Bruce and Ruvae Britten