A surprise party was held at the Swanage estate agents Corbens to celebrate a pretty impressive milestone for one of its directors.
John Corben started working for his father when he was 17 years old and has now notched up an astonishing 60 years as an estate agent at the family firm.
John Corben with the team which includes his brother Dave, son Nick and nephew Anthony
Great partnership over long innings
Not keen to slow down, while also taking on numerous charitable causes, John still works four days a week alongside his brother Dave, forming a great partnership over a long innings.
On Friday 4th October 2024, he opened the door to the estate agents in Station Road and was surprised to see the office decked out with balloons.
John said:
“I knew nothing about this, so when I walked in and saw the balloons, I thought, what is all this about? I thought it is a Friday but there’s still work to be done, we can’t be having all this!
“It was of course a lovely surprise!”
John Corben – not just an estate agent but also a qualified chartered building engineer, environmentalist, expert witness and arbitrator
“I nearly went into banking”
However the milestone may have never been reached if it hadn’t been for a twist of fate.
John explained:
“I nearly went into banking. When I was 17, the manager of the Midland Bank in Swanage, as it was then, offered to train me up and he said I had a good chance of becoming an assistant manager if I joined them.
“However I wasn’t sure, so my father Eddie said I could come and work with him at the estate agency, while I thought about it. It was meant to be only six months but it has now turned out to be 60 years!
“If I’m honest, I didn’t like it at first. I was young and a bit headstrong and not really keen on dealing with people.
“However I also volunteered for the local coastguard and after 18 months joined the Swanage lifeboat crew. As a young man you want a bit of adventure. You used to be able to do National Service and join the forces but of course that had stopped.
“One day I was sat at my desk in the office and I got a phone call – no pagers in those days – the lifeboat needed to be launched quickly.
“A boat had capsized with a grandfather and two grandchildren on board in the Peveril races.
“None of them had lifejackets and by the time we got there, they were all underwater and 30 seconds away from departing this life. Happily we were able to rescue them all and return the children to their mother.
“I got back to my desk and thought that was a job well done and much more important than selling a house.”
Dave (left) and John (right) as Swanage RNLI volunteers meeting HRH the Duke of Kent
Many years later, John and Dave still offer their skills and knowledge volunteering in the community
Helped raise funds for Trevor Chadwick statue
Not only volunteering for the lifeboat for 22 years, John was also a county magistrate for 32 years.
He, with his wife Sue, were founder members of Cancare, the charity that helps support local people diagnosed with cancer and their families. John chaired the committee for many years until his wife Sue took over at the helm.
In recent years, the Trevor Chadwick Memorial Trust was founded and John worked with the committee to raise £80,000 to erect a statue in memory of Trevor Chadwick’s outstanding bravery saving the lives of 669 refugee children from the Nazis.
John continues to be president of the Swanage Royal British Legion, a position held by his father for many years.
He says he has no plans to retire and is now turning his attention to training up another generation of his family to join the estate agency. The son of his daughter Mandy is keen to learn the ropes so John says he has to stay on for another few years!
John (left) at the unveiling of the Trevor Chadwick statue in Swanage with Trevor Chadwick’s grandson Samuel
John and his wife Sue – founder members of the local Cancare charity
“I’ve learnt to take my time”
So what would he say he’s learnt over the last 60 years as an estate agent? John said:
“When I was 17 years I would tear into everything and rush around trying to achieve things quickly.
“Now I’ve learnt to take my time and take into consideration what people really want. Sometimes what they say they want and what they really want are different, so it pays to wait and take a more considered approach!”
Further information
- More about Corbens Estate Agency
