An Ordinary Signalman Author:John Dawson John Raymond Dawson joined the Royal Navy in Leeds, his home town, in December 1940 aged 19, with his best friend Norman Brooks. He served until early 1946, which was when he wrote up his diary setting out his experiences during the War. His son promised him in 1985 that one day he would write this up for publication. John agreed but only if ... more »this was after his death. Sadly this came too soon in the following year when he was aged just 64. In 1999, letters John had written during the War to his elder sister Eileen were found in her attic when she was moving. This provided more valuable material to work on. He has written An Ordinary Signalman since he retired in 2006.« less