The last survivor of six children in John Main’s family, Ian Main, died in Southern France, May 23, 2011, at 89 years of age. Born in London, England in 1922, he had been living in France in retirement with his wife Judith. His survivors also include six children, William, David, Marie,John Leila,and Donald.
John Main once said “we were very happy in our home life, and as well as being brothers and sisters we were all good friends”. In fact it was in the heart of the Main family that Ian, John, and the other children, first experienced a love that would give them such psychological stability and strength later in life.
Saturday night was always family night in the Main family, for neighbours as well as friends, and usually included singing and games. In one game the participants wrote down the subject for a one minute speech. Ian was once enraged when John gave him the subject “Early Byzantine Architecture”.
In the book “John Main By This Who Knew Him”, their sister Yvonne commented on the involvement of Ian and John in practical jokes and Irish humour. Says Yvonne: “one day my mother and a friend were listening to the funeral of King George V on the radio. The commentator was saying ‘Now the funeral bus has arrived at Euston Station and the Royal family are following the hearse and the coffin.’ A voice then rang out, ‘Oh good gracious, a terrible thing has happened, the coffin has fallen off the hearse and the King is rolling down the steps’. My brother and John had rigged up another piece of radio equipment and managed to interrupt the royal funeral broadcast with their horrific announcement. The rest of the children were in the hallway in hysterics”.
At the beginning of the second world war in 1939 both Ian and John Main were evacuated to the countryside north of London, and stayed with the Ernaelsteens, friends of the Main family. The Earnaelsteens provided a stable and warm environment in the early war years for the teen age boys Ian and John.
As the oldest in the family Ian was “A Man for all Seasons”. In his youth his passion was for soccer, high jumping and long distance running. He qualified for the Irish Olympic team for the 1940 Olympics in cross country running, but due to the war never saw the opportunity to fulfill that dream. He was an avid reader, a lover of music and had a great sense of humour which seemed to run in the Main family. Throughout his life he was political left wing and his favourite political catch phrase was “What about the workers”.
Towards the end of the war while living in London, Ian forgot one night to put up the mandatory shutters that hid London from the nightly bombers. He received a visit from the police as a result and was told to report to the police station to face the consequences. However as he approached the station the next day he discovered the station itself had become a bombing victim of the air raid.
With his interest in mechanical engineering Ian attended university in Belfast. During one class the lecturer forbad the students to discuss the subject of sex, religion or politics. Ian quipped, “What else is there to talk about”. “Main, stay quiet”, the lecturer replied. His Belfast studies included time at sea with the Royal Navy.
Ian and his wife Judith took to Christian Meditation and became Benedictine oblates in 1988. While living in retirement in Greece and France they followed the Main family tradition of evening meditation followed by gin and tonics.
In the book “John Main By Those Who Knew Him”, Judith commented: “I have been meditating for over 20 years. I come to it each time as a beginner and know that I always will be a beginner. For me it is not a skill I can progress in. In fact I have no skill at all. Most of the time it is shamingly difficult to concentrate for even a short time. But just sometimes when I am already in a peaceful frame of mind, I get an inkling of what true faithful meditation could mean. In spite of this meditation is an important part of my life without which a day is incomplete, unsatisfactory and somewhat wasted. I feel I must keep on trying”.
Paul Harris