John joined the Royal Navy as a 15-year-old boy entrant at HMS Ganges in 1968 and left in 1992 as a Lieutenant, with ten years’ service as an Instructor Officer. His sea-going ships as part of the WE (Radio Electrical) branch were HMS Bulwark (evacuation of Malta in 1971), HMS Falmouth (during the Falklands War) and HMS Kent. Having obtained a B-Tech Diploma, and then a Cert Ed at Garnett College in 1982, his appointments as an Instructor Officer were HMS Sultan, HMS Mercury, NATO HQ Brussels, and HMS Collingwood. As a Schoolie he taught Electronics, Electrotechnology, Radio Telecommunications, and later specialised in Information Systems, qualifying as a systems analyst. On leaving the Navy, he gained a BA (Hons) in Social Policy and a PhD in Economics at the University of York and worked as a Research Fellow in Health Economics (Research Publications). He is widely published and cited in his academic fields of work over a 20-year career in academia. Now fully retired, he writes and publishes military and family biographies and autobiographies with family and RN associates. As Editor, John takes the lead role in sourcing and publishing material for the RNIOA.