I have just contacted Richard Golding ref above. His edited comments are:-
John was an older student at the glass centre in Brierly Hill in about 1982, after running his own advertising business. Got bored after retiring, so set up a glass house in Cambridge, making unique pieces of copper & ruby glass. It was my fault he went down that direction, because I showed him how no two melts ever come out the same. That was it, he was hooked. John worked for about 3 years on some amazing pieces, & then had heart problems, & died during a bypass op. A sad day, we all lost a great artist that day. & I lost a friend. You have a very special piece.
Many thanks to all who replied to my message.
Regards., John.
With thanks to Richard Golding for the above information.