Sergeant John Driver

Sergeant John Driver was a fitter and turner before he enlisted in Newcastle with the Royal West Kent Regiment on 30 November 1944. He completed his parachute training at Ringway on course B173 from 22 July to 9 August 1945 and was described as being, "difficult to teach and slow to learn, was given extra training."

After joining the Army Air Corps on 5 July 1945, John served in Palestine where he earned a General Service Medal and clasp.

John transferred to the Army Catering Corps on 5 April 1948 and later served with the BAOR between 1948 and 1949, as well as the Middle East Land Force from 1949 until 1952.

He joined 2 Para on 14 January 1956, and consequently served in Cyprus, Egypt, during Operation Musketeer, and Malaya until 1965. John was promoted to Corporal on 1 June 1956. His testimonial reads: "A competent and diligent supervisor of kitchens and their staff. He shows imagination in his planning of menus and ingenuity in his preparation of dishes. He is entirely reliable and trustworthy and carries out all his duties with zeal and loyalty. He is capable of working well without supervision and is in every way reliable." His military conduct was described as "Very Good." He subsequently earned a General Service Medal and clasp for his service in Cyprus and Egypt respectively.

John was promoted to Sergeant on 13 December 1965.

He was discharged after 22 years service in 1967 and passed away on 11 August 1989.