WSJ obituary / English Journalist Couldnt Bear Abuse’s of the Apostrophe ....................
May 5, 2021
English Journalist Couldnt Bear Abuse’s of the Apostrophe
John Richards, who has died at age 97, founded a society to promote correct punctuation
John Richards, a retired English journalist, founded the Apostrophe Protection Society in 2001.
By James R. Hagerty
Retirees are often urged to find new activities and causes. After a career as a newspaper reporter and editor in England, John Richards took up the role of defending the apostrophe, an often abused punctuation mark.
When he started the Apostrophe Protection Society in 2001, there were only two members, Mr. Richards and his son, Stephen. Soon, however, he had more than 250 members, and some made unsolicited cash donations. Letters and emails arrived from all over with examples of misuse of the apostrophe. Many offenders left the apostrophe out of possessive phrases or inserted the mark where it wasn’t needed, as in market signs advertising “apple’s.”
Then the crusade ran into resistance. Mr. Richards told the Daily Mail that he spotted a restaurant advertising “coffee’s.” He offered free advice. “I said very politely, ‘It’s not needed. It’s a plural,’” Mr. Richards said. “But the man said: ‘I think it looks better with an apostrophe.’ And what can you say to that?”
In 2019, he shut down his campaign. “The barbarians have won,” he said.
“I’m just not as enthusiastic as I was,” Mr. Richards said. “I think it may be an age thing, but somehow the apostrophe doesn’t seem to matter to me as much as it did.”
Mr. Richards died of sepsis on March 30. He was 97.
John Belton Richards, the son of a postal worker and a shop employee, was born Sept. 17, 1923, in London. He spent his career working at newspapers in London and southeast England. After retiring from the West Sussex Gazette in 1988, he lived in Boston, England.
‘I think a lot of the change now is due to laziness and ignorance. It’s going downhill.’
-- John Richards
When he wasn’t campaigning, he painted with watercolors, drew pictures and participated in a local theatrical group. He is survived by two children and a grandson.
In defending the apostrophe, he tried to avoid hectoring or insulting anyone. His typical letter of advice opened like this: “Dear Sir or Madam, Because there seems to be some doubt about the use of the apostrophe, we are taking the liberty of drawing your attention to an incorrect use.”
He accepted the natural evolution of language. “Of course English is changing,” he told the Washington Post in 2009. “If the change is an improvement, yes, that’s fine. I think a lot of the change now is due to laziness and ignorance. It’s going downhill.”
Grammar, he said, “is a valued part of our civilization.”
He chose his battles, however, rather than taking on all abuses of grammar and usage. In a 2001 interview with the New York Times, he said: “The incorrect use of ‘fewer’ and ‘less’ is another thing that annoys me. If I carry on, I’ll get quite worked up.”
Write to James R. Hagerty at bob.hagerty@wsj.com
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