John was at Mercury between 1957 and 1960 where he rose to become Leading Cadet of the 3rd Section of Drake Division.
On leaving Mercury, at the age of 16, he attended college in Grimsby to undertake a radio communication course. From there, aged 19, he joined Marconi Marine as a Merchant Navy radio officer serving on a variety of vessels, usually tankers and cargo ships, including those of Shell Tankers and Blue Star Line. He then joined P & O as a 2nd Radio Officer on their passenger ships, including Canberra.
After over 12 years at sea, he joined Nottinghamshire Police Force. On retiring from there he went on to work for a health & safety company for a few years. On finally retiring, he still wanted to do some kind of work, so he became a volunteer lock keeper for the Trent River Trust, which he thoroughly enjoyed for around 6 years until his illness. It can be said he worked all his life! He lived in Elston, Newark with his wife, Brenda, to whom we send our condolences.