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This drama deals with the life of a man of humble origin and how he dealt with the challenges of his time. After leaving school on the Friday, at lunchtime, he is ready to start work in a coal mine at 6 o’clock in the morning the following Monday. He is aged just fourteen, the year is 1944.

Subsequently he goes on to enlist in the British Army, going on to serve in the Korean War (1950 – 1953). Upon return, he falls in love with a young woman and they go on to marry and to have a family. They are well suited to one another, love singing, dancing and partying and engage fully with the local mining community, including being practising members of the local Catholic church.

After leaving the Army, (although still on the Reserve List) John does a number of different jobs, including working latterly on the Ferries between Dover and France. It is at this stage in his life when the stresses and strains of trying to make a living begin to overcome him, culminating in the tragic sinking of ‘The Spirit of Free Enterprise’ when he is asked to counsel the families of the many victims who were drowned. This tips him over into a serious mental breakdown. It is at this point that he confesses to his wife, Zilla, that after all these years, he still cannot get out of his memory an incident that took place on the battlefield in the hills of Korea. This was truly a test of their marriage.

Christopher Burke, author, May 2025