John King spent his working days in railways and airlines where he qualified as an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Transport. In the early stages of his career, he became interested in transport history and wrote several articles and books on Irish transport, British airline and airport history, including some commissioned by British Airways and British Airports Authority. Through his research, he became interested in archives and their management, and obtained a diploma in archives and records management. His last position before retirement from Network Rail was in railway records. Johns interests also extends to local history and he is a past chairman of the Lewisham Local History Society. John has also lectured on aspects of transport and local history.