Jo Hadley obituary
Never a person to duck the limelight, my friend, Jo Hadley, was on a stage just five weeks before he died aged 60 of cancer. He had played many roles over the years, adapting from policeman on the beat in Essex to, after moving to Helsinki, university lecturer, kindergarten play leader and, in the last four years of his life, the only representative of the Fellowship of Punch and Judy puppeteers in the Nordic countries.
Born in Formby, now part of Merseyside, Jonathan was the son of Enid and Brian Hadley, a mechanical engineer. The family relocated to Southend, Essex, when Jo was a toddler and he grew up there with three brothers in a close, boisterous family.
As a youth he was not a paragon of virtue, being suspended twice from Westcliff high school for boys. But entry into the local venture scout troop, run by the pioneering leader Jock Barr, was life-changing, providing Jo with a community of like-minded individuals. It was the enthusiasm engendered by these experiences that got him through his interview for the Essex police in 1985.
Fifteen years later, after several years on the beat, Jo took up the opportunity to study for a BA then MA in sociology at Goldsmith’s College, London, sponsored by the police. There he met a Finnish PhD student, Minna Pietilä, whom he married in 2001.
The following year the couple moved to Helsinki, where Jo completed his PhD. He then worked as a researcher for the Finnish Police University and Helsinki University, and later as a consultant for the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (Unicri), while also throwing himself into expat life.
Though apparently not blessed with sporting skills as a schoolboy, Jo was soon chairman of a local cricket team. It became a source of social contact for the immigrant community of Helsinki, including members of Pakistani and Indian origin.
The constraints on academic budgets in 2014 meant another career change, which saw the creation of his new role as “edutainer”, working in a local English language kindergarten. After some years, combining his interest in British folk history with the scouting performance skills of old, he began investigating the English tradition of Punch and Judy, and developing his own act.
His first performance was at the Sampo international puppet festival in 2021, from which sprung Jo’s Shows. These became a regular feature on the streets and parks of Helsinki during the summer months.
Jo is survived by Minnä, their two sons, Joa and Oliver, and by his brothers.
