Aged 8 John followed in his father’s footsteps into the Scouts, the first of many organisations to which John belonged. Here he first learned, amongst other things, Morse code. Along the way he achieved the status of “Queen’s Scout”; the top award in Scouting, higher than the Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Award, and for which one receives a certificate signed by the Queen. The Scouts were also a bridge overseas for John. Before the war, John’s father was friendly with a Scout leader in Denmark. After the war they regained contact, which resulted in a life-long friendship between John and the Danish Scout leader’s daughter, Lise.