Navy Historian Warms to Bear

John joined the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in January 1980 as a 16 year old Junior Recruit. During a career spanning 25 years, he attained the rank of Warrant Officer Signals Yeoman and later commissioned as a Lieutenant. Throughout his service, he saw much of the world and participated in numerous exercises and operations that included operational deployments to Somalia, Bougainville and East Timor.

He transferred to the Naval Reserve in November 2004 when he took up his current position as the Senior Naval Historical Officer at the Sea Power Centre – Australia. He is the co-author of Australia’s Navy in Vietnam and author of Kit Muster, Uniforms Badges & Categories of the Australian Navy 1865-1953. He has also made numerous written contributions to a wide range of historical publications.