Francis Stanley Fairclough was a Durham graduate and in his late 20s when he arrived in Newbold. He had been a curate at Pitsmoor in Sheffield and also for around a year in Chesterfield. He came to Newbold with clearly defined plans which were curtailed by the outbreak of World War 2. After several difficult years he left St. John’s in 1947. His health was not good and this was first mentioned in 1942 and then again in 1944. In October 1947 he told the PCC that he had accepted a move to Hathersage and expected to leave the following month. His last service at Newbold took place on 7th December 1947.