John Stewart Mattock (23 April 1926 – 23 October 2017) was an English

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

grower, and the chairman of the

Chelsea Flower Show The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, formally known as the ''Great Spring Show'',Phil Clayton, ''The Great Temple Show'' in ''The Garden'' 2008, p.452, The Royal Horticultural Society is a garden show held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultural ...

for twelve years. He was born in Oxford, the eldest child of John and Marita Mattock, where his father was a master rose grower. He joined the Royal Navy in 1944 and took part in the D-Day landings as an electrician on a landing craft, rejoining the family business after the war to run the Mattock rose gardens in Headington. He helped to grow the turnover tenfold, after which the family opened a garden centre at Nuneham Courteney, which became the firm's head office. They exhibited at the Chelsea Flower Show, winning several medals, and Mattock became chairman of the show. He retired in the late 1980s and sold the business to Notcutts Garden Centre. In retirement he lectured and wrote, publishing such books as "''The Reader's Digest Gardener's Guide to Growing Roses''" and "''Growing and Displaying Roses''". In 1983 he was awarded the

Victoria Medal of Honour The Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH) is awarded to British horticulturists resident in the United Kingdom whom the Royal Horticultural Society Council considers deserving of special honour by the Society. The award was established in 1897 "in per ...

of the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

He died aged 91 in 2017 and was buried at St Andrew's Church in Sandford-on-Thames. He had married twice;firstly Sheila Weatherley and secondly Sheila Port and had two daughters.

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* * 1926 births 2017 deaths People from Oxford People educated at Southfield Grammar School Royal Navy personnel of World War II English horticulturists English male sailors (sport) Victoria Medal of Honour recipients 20th-century English businesspeople {{England-bio-stub