One evening John had returned from RAF training camp to attend an evening service at Westminster Abbey. Near the grave of the unknown warrior he made conversation with a lady nearby. They went together and joined her friends for a service at Westminster Central Hall.
That lady, Dorothy Ungate, became his wife. They eventually made their home in Kingsbury and raised a family: John, Jane and Margaret.
In the civilian world, John worked for GEC and then the Post Office / British Telecom. He worked in every section, from Exchange Maintenance, Planning, Construction and at the BT tower where he provided the first 200 circuits of Cellnet.
In 1984 John was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.