John was born near Pencalenick School and has lived his whole life in Truro.

He worked as a Senior Site Manager in construction for thirty years until his retirement in 2011. One of his duties with the company was to mentor all of the apprentices and work experience students in Cornwall.

As part of his employment he worked to enlarge and refurbish Doubletrees School from 2004 until 2006, when he was then invited onto the Board of Governors, serving as Health & Safety Governor up to and after his retirement in 2014.

John left Doubletrees School in 2014 and then joined Pencalenick School as Health & Safety Governor. In 2015 he took on the role of chair of Governors until the formation of the Special Partnership Trust, where he joined the Board of Trustees with a focus on Health & Safety.