John Webster Biography

Official Town Crier for the City of Markham and the Towns of Aurora, East Gwillimbury and Cary, North Carolina.

John is a 3rd generation resident of The City of Markham, and was proclaimed as The Official Town Crier for The Town of Markham by Town Council in 1987.

He is a member in good standing in The Ontario Guild of Town Criers, and was the president of The Guild for 5 years. John has been honoured to be declared The Honorary Town Crier of The Town of Edlinton, in England, by Lord William Haydon Gordon-Smith. At the turn of the century, he was appointed as the Official Town Crier of East Gwillimbury. John is a 4th generation resident of the Region of York and has a special connection with East Gwillimbury - his parents met in the two room school in Holland Landing. In 2004, he was appointed Town Crier for Cary, North Carolina, USA. That appointment allowed him to be a member of the American Guild of Town Criers. Recently, John has been appointed to be the Town Crier of Aurora, which has the significance of being the hometown of his great-great-grandfather.

His "Oyez" has been heard coast to coast in Canada as well as in Australia, England, Bermuda, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Germany and The United States. He has competed with other Town Criers, and was Host Crier for the 1993 World Town Crier Championships. He holds a total of 4 World Trophies in The Bermuda International Competition. He is the current holder of the Bobby Burns Memorial World Trophy, the Los Angeles International Town Crier Cup, and in May of 2019 the Tulip Time International from Holland Michigan. He has held the title of the Champion Town Crier for North America for 7 consecutive years and has been the Ontario Provincial Champion twice. He earned the Silver Medal at the Halifax International World Championship, and again in 1999 at The Anacortas World Invitational Championship. He has also been awarded the Canada 125 medal as well as the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and Diamond Jubilee medal and in 2022, the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Pin.

Since he was proclaimed a Town Crier in 1987, he has been very visible throughout the area, conducting historic walks. and reading proclamations at official functions. John performs at over 200 events per year and sits on many boards of community clubs and festivals.

He says that as the Town Crier he acts as a good will ambassador who adds a little colour and history to the community, corporate and charity, events that he attends.