Education
He was educated at Merchant Taylors" School, a boys" independent school in Northwood, London.
He was educated at Merchant Taylors" School, a boys" independent school in Northwood, London.
Born at Ridgeholme, 53 The Ridgeway, Kenton, Harrow, Middlesex, on leaving school he went straight into employment at the Wembley News as a sixteen-year-old cub reporter. He then worked for the Eastern Daily Press until, in 1959, he started to work for British Broadcasting Corporation News as reporter, becoming deputy court correspondent in 1962 covering overseas royal visits. In remained in this post until 1967.
From 1964, he presented Newsroom on British Broadcasting Corporation 2, the first British television news programme to make the switch to colour on 1 July 1967.
He later presented British Broadcasting Corporation"s late evening Tonight programme. Timpson co-presented the British Broadcasting Corporation Radio 4 programme Today from 1970 to 1976 and again from 1978 to 1986, working on Tonight during the gap.
Timpson became known as the more humorous of the two men with jocular asides like "Insulation - Britain lags behind" or "Crash course for learner drivers". From 1984 to 1987, he also presented the popular weekly radio show, Any Questions?.
His experiences in broadcasting provided Timpson with material for several books: Today and Yesterday (1976), The Lighter Side of Today (1983) and The Early Morning Book (1986).
After his retirement from the British Broadcasting Corporation he returned to Norfolk and continued writing, especially about England and East Anglia in particular. These included a novel Paper Trail (1989) and two works on the quirks and oddities of English life - Timpson"s England (1987) and Timpson"s Towns (1989). Subsequent books included Timpson’s English Villages (1992), Timpson’s Other England (1993), Timpson’s English Country Inns (1995) and Timpson on the Verge (2002).
The station building at County School was formally opened as a heritage railway centre by John Timpson on 15 June 1990, who was brought into the station for the occasion on a short train composed of a Ruston diesel locomotive and Learning Management System brake van.
John Timpson died in King"s Lynn, Norfolk, on 19 November 2005 and was buried at his parish church of Street Peter’s Weasenham. The speakers included the Director of British Broadcasting Corporation Radio and Music, Jenny Abramsky.