Jack Ayton was born in Waitara on 13 March 1925, the youngest of six children of labourer Christopher George Groom Ayton (1878-1942) and Clara Eva Marian Ayton (nee Crow) (1895-1973). He attended Urenui School and enjoyed competitive cycling, being a member of the Urenui and Waitara Cycle Clubs.
Jack was still a boy when the Second World War broke out but as soon as he turned 18 he had to make himself available for a month of military camp training in order to serve with the territorial force. Once he turned 20 he was eligible for full-time service but could not be sent overseas until the age of 21 and the war ended before he reached that milestone.
Jack married Barbara Annie Fletcher (1926-2008) on 3 May 1945 and the couple had four children, John, Diane, Joy and Colleen. They continued to live in Waitara where Jack worked as a carpenter. Their oldest son John Ayton left Taranaki in the late 1960s to travel the world and ended up working with famous underseas explorer Jacques Cousteau – Jack’s dogs used to meet him outside the gates of Waitara School every afternoon to walk the little boy home.
Jack Ayton died at home in Waitara on 15 May 1981 at the age of 56 and is buried at Waitara Cemetery.
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