John Roocroft was a character in the traditional sense of the word.

Some people liked him, others tolerated him and some, well, to put it rather mildly, some strongly disliked him. If one came into contact with Jack whatever you did, you couldn't ignore him. He had some good friends and some devoted enemies but perhaps his greatest achievement was that he managed to upset so many in authority – not least the Town Council, Monmouthshire County Council and the Gwent Police Force.

Like many other Monmothians (John was a Monmothian by adoption) he was happy with the nickname that someone had given him years ago: "Mad Jack". Although eccentric he was once a successful business man, apparently a millionaire, but I gather, his company failed during an earlier recession. His love of trees and flowers dominated his life in Monmouth and his contribution towards Mon­mouth gaining second place in the Wales in Bloom Competition is well known, if not always appreciated. He also loved his allotment and gave away many of its products to the elderly while, I suspect, also enjoying the inevitable confrontations with the council over this amenity.

As many saw it, the trouble with Jack was that he had little respect for authority and would erect flower baskets where he thought they should go and not where some civil servant told him they should. He disliked the idea of planting flower tubs with medieval flowers which he considered 'weeds' and was quite prepared to do something about it, as he was when the Catalpa tree was under threat. At that time it was widely suspected, but of course never proved, that it was Jack's little red tractor and trailer which had been seen, early one misty morning, driving away from St. James' Square loaded with sections of the massive branch which had overhung the road. The branch had been one of the main reasons for the county council's health and safety concern that the Catalpa tree should be felled.

Jack was a man of action and had previously taken his chain saw to the huge 'alien' trees in the Nelson Garden, perhaps inadvertently saving the future garden committee considerable expense as they endeavour to re-instate the garden in its true 19th century glory, which does not include fir trees.

Jack was recently informed, in an unfriendly letter from the council, that he could put flowers on the toilet block (at his own expense) but with conditions such as that he should carry out a full risk assessment and that there would be no risk or cost to them. He once told me that 'so and so' was the best member of the council but added "and he's the village idiot!"

Jack Roocroft's ability to upset authority was legendary and sometimes extended to the police force; one notable occasion being when he spent New Year's Eve/New Year's Day, 2009/2010, in an Abergavenny police cell. This very strange and still unexplained incident began while he was watching television and was ordered by telephone to come out with his hands in the air. When Jack realised that it was not a joke he refused to come out 'for fear of being shot'. The armed siege, with the Carbonne area bristling with police marksmen, only ended with the intervention of a local councillor and Jack was taken away. Apparently someone had maliciously reported seeing him with a gun on his tractor. Jack had not owned a gun since his farming days so of course nothing was found during the subsequent police ransack of this 80-year-old's home.

On another occasion Jack was summonsed by the police for offences which I believe were connected to his tractor driving and he ended up in Newport County Court. However, the court took account of references from local people and the case went Jack's way. On his triumphant return to Monmouth, Jack went around to the police station and hung a basket of flowers over the door. Harmless, I suppose, but not likely to improve his relations with those inside, although I suspect that that there was a sneaking affection for Jack amongst some in the force with whom he often shared a joke.

Jack was regularly seen driving around town on his little red tractor with his 'L' plates proudly displayed. He recently commissioned a sign-writer to paint a board with the notice 'Child on Board' but I don't know what it was for or whether it was ever displayed.

I wonder what sort of memorial one might erect in memory of 'Mad Jack' – surely not an ordinary grave stone? Why not a stone monolith – like one of the Trelech standing stones?

But hold on – there's no need – for Monmouthshire County Council has already erected a whole row of standing stones in memory of Jack – along the Portal Road – to stop Jack growing beans in the scrubland beside the road. I suspect that they will always be 'Jack's Stones' in memory of him and of his affect on those in authority.

Good night Jack, I dare say that there will be flowers for you to plant in Heaven, beans for you to grow and Catalpa Trees for you to prune, and of course, authority for you to annoy. So I'm sure that it will be a livelier place up there, beyond the clouds, with you on hand.

– Stephen Clarke.