It’s with much sadness that SMT Online reports the death of John Franklin-Webb, known to many of you as the hugely committed head of canine services at ICTS (the major security company with a global presence across 26 different countries, and both a sizeable and extremely well-respected operation here in the UK).
From 1997, John harboured personal licences issued by the Home Office and Thames Valley Police to acquire, hold and possess both explosives and drugs in order that he could be at the forefront – and, indeed, the cutting-edge – of developments in the security dog training arena.
Of course, John was Security Industry Authority-licensed and qualified, police trained in drug presentation skills and counter-terrorism and CRB cleared to an enhanced level.
He was nothing less than an avid supporter of public-private sector partnership liaisons, always advocating the highest standards of operation and the need for working in a safe and legal manner.
A regular speaker on the industry circuit whenever the topics of counter-terrorism and drug-related crime were at a play, John was also a prominent canine sector spokesperson and consistently liaised with colleagues in central Government departments on national security-related matters.
Larger-than-life character
John will be remembered for many positive things, I suspect, but most of all, perhaps, for being a larger-than-life character who invariably sported a ‘naughty boy’ smile. There was always a twinkle in his eye, and that infectious enthusiasm he imparted to us all will never be forgotten.
Never less than fiercely supportive of his colleagues, John was also fearless in his outlook on business life and always had one eye on ‘The Big Idea’.
One of the industry’s hardest-working practitioners, John was nevertheless always ready and willing to enjoy life.
As a regular luncheon companion of mine with his wife Patricia Grant-Wilson (more of whom anon), I must say that you couldn’t wish to break bread with a more affable, friendly, warm and engaging individual.
From childhood to a successful career
John Franklin-Webb was born in Bromley, Kent (where he was brought up and educated) on 4 April 1955.
What may not be known to many of you is that John had a number of ‘careers’. Looking back, in all of them you could see the influence of the ‘JFW’ that all of us in the security sector came to know and admire so much.
One of his early roles was working for the Jean Machine clothing empire, where John was in charge of the window displays to increase product promotion. That’s obviously where he acquired his impeccable dress sense.
John loved gardening, and even when he was doing that he maintained his snappy attire with a pair of polished, shiny Wellington boots.
Never one to miss a great opportunity, when Princess Diana famously made a purchase from one of the Jean Machine stores and paid by cheque, John had said cheque photocopied and enlarged so that it could be displayed in all of the chain’s shop windows. That was typical of John’s style.
It was during this time, in fact, that John lived on the Kings Road in Chelsea and drove his beloved Lotus Esprite.
Meeting up with Patricia
John also tried his hand at several other lines of work including event organising, a stint in the property sector and some time in the world of insurance.
He eventually teamed up with his beloved wife Patricia Grant-Wilson – who now survives him – in the PR business after meeting her at the launch of the China Jazz restaurant (with a little help from their mutual friend Brin Douglas).
Shortly after this, John moved to Hampstead Heath – then every bit as trendy as Chelsea – and the 20 year-plus partnership with Patricia began.
John had two previous wives, Julie and Penny, but it’s fair to say he found his true love and lifetime partner in Patricia. The longest that John and Patricia spent apart in all that time was a mere six days (when he was away on business in Jamaica).
One of John’s high points came when he and Patricia worked together in the early 1990s in supporting Ffyona Campbell’s 10,000-mile walk across Africa to raise awareness of Survival International, the organisation which helps protect the lives of threatened tribal people.
Somehow, John and Patricia managed to get most of the world’s press to the beach in Tangiers at the conclusion of the two-year walk, including The London Evening Standard.
Love of dogs from boyhood
Another of John’s great loves was, not surprisingly, his dogs. John kept dogs virtually all of his life, notably demonstrating his huge affection for our canine friends when he worked for James Caan in the property business.
Caan had booked a meeting with a client and asked John to be present. The client’s representatives duly arrived, and John showed them into the Boardroom.
John thought it strange that the representatives had brought a dog along with them, but when it sat at John’s feet he showed how much he liked dogs by petting it throughout the meeting.
At the completion of said meeting the client’s representatives were about to leave when John reminded them not to forget their dog. They responded by saying they thought it was John’s dog. The animal was, in fact, a stray that had followed them in from the street…
In the late 1990s, John combined his love of dogs with work and moved into the drug and explosives detection business with dogs and kennels in Oxfordshire. He was fiercely proud on the official launch day for the partnership with ICTS (UK) when he and Patricia worked their magic yet again and managed to get David Cameron there as the VIP guest.
Although Cameron was ‘only’ leader of the opposition at the time, I’m sure he and Patricia would still have been able to swing his appearance even if he had been the Prime Minister of the Day!
Ability to communicate at all levels
It wasn’t just VIPs that John could relate to, though. Many times he would be witnessed holding the attention of an assembly of 100+ schoolchildren, in total silence and with his unique presentation style.
No mean feat, I’m sure you’ll agree, but then John was a first class communicator.
He even excelled in talking to and calming down clubbers outside city centre nightclubs in the early hours with his trusty drug detection dogs in tow.
Indeed, John was a great ambassador in the use of dogs for both drugs and explosives detection. He worked tirelessly to promote Best Practice and raise standards, and had no time whatsoever for the unprofessional organisations that appear from time-to-time in the industry.
It’s fair to say that John was one of the country’s leading experts in this area. Following on from the 9/11 attacks, he was probably the first person to identify the need for the private sector to augment military and police dogs in the area of explosives detection.
Through John’s sheer hard work and stubborn refusal to give up on the idea, as stated he managed to obtain the necessary licences and permissions to train and use dogs in this area.
The canine services operation at ICTS (UK) which John founded provides a one-stop shop for ACPO-compliant canine services in the disciplines of explosives, drugs, weapons, currency and all other key canine roles.
John held overall responsibility for cargo security using canines trained to operate the Remote Explosive Scent Tracing (REST) process.
On top of that, he was a respected member of the professional security community, a member of the Institute of Conflict Management, the British Institute of Inn Keeping and the Institute of Explosives Engineers.
Recent promotion and awards
John’s untimely death is ironic in that he had recently been promoted to lead the whole K9 division at ICTS, and had been asked to speak on its behalf at an international conference in Canberra.
In truth, John was just beginning to ride the crest of a wave.
On 16 May at the Hilton Metropole Hotel in Birmingham, the West Oxfordshire Community Safety Partnership operation – of which ICTS (UK) is a fundamental cog – was the deserving winner of this year’s Best Policing Partnership Award at the IFSEC Security Industry Awards, a category judged and finalised before John’s untimely demise.
John wasn’t there to receive the trophy alongside Partnership representative Billy Oddy, then, but thankfully Patricia Grant-Wilson was… An emotional moment that, it’s fair to say, will live on in all our memories.
At our fabulous luncheon meetings designed to update me on ‘all things ICTS’, when talk turned to our everyday lives John and Patricia would often mention Cyprus as being their favourite holiday destination.
In addition to gardening, travelling and being by the side of his beloved wife Patricia were always top of John’s ‘wish list’.
In closing, given the nature of this fine man I strongly suspect John would want us to celebrate his life rather than mourn his departure.
John Franklin-Webb (1955-2011): never to be forgotten…
Brian Sims is group content editor of UBM Live’s Security Portfolio and editor of Security Management Today Online
