08/02/2025
It is with great sadness we announce the sad loss of John Spreull, one of the great characters of Hafren Veterinary Group. John sadly passed away suddenly last month while holidaying in New Zealand, a country he visited often and loved.
John came to Hafren vets in 1983 as a newly qualified vet. He was instrumental in setting up the Llanidloes Surgery, and he looked after that surgery for all of his time here, until he left in 2012 to return to his beloved Scotland. He made it a very successful veterinary practice with the high standards he always demanded. Hafren Vets owe John a great debt of gratitude for the nearly 30 years he spent here.
John was a charismatic man who lived life to the full. He loved his work and loved to party. He was a fantastic veterinary surgeon and was equally at home whether working with pets or farm animals. He was much admired and loved by the clients in the area, and he had a truly outstanding reputation, and he is still much talked about even though he moved on to become a locum vet working all over his native country of Scotland and its Islands. John loved nothing more than treating and helping animals under his care, while engaging and helping their owners.
He was very successful in growing Hafren Vets and always strived to ensure his clients and patients received the best of care. He was admired and loved by both his customers and colleagues alike. He returned often to Llanidloes for his family, and had many friends here. His four children grew up in Llanidloes and have gone on to be successful in their own right, and John was so very proud of them, and loved them dearly. Johns wife Jane also worked alongside him for many years as a veterinary surgeon. Our thoughts are with Johns family and partner Helen at this time, but they can be proud of John who was revered by so many while he was here, and as a larger than life character who lived life to the full and loved his life as a true country vet.
RIP John, you will be missed but never forgotten in Llanidloes and the surrounding area.
Johns funeral will take place in St Idloes Church, Llanidloes on Thursday 20th February, at 11am and then at 2pm in Aberystwyth crematorium. Refreshments will be served afterwards at Arthurs in Trefeglwys. I am sure many of you will wish to pay your respects to a great man of mid-Wales!
