John Senior (Major Ret) John Wilson Senior TD founder of Heroes Welcome UK [1][2]
Biography Born 1960 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire and educated at Millfield School. In 1963 the Senior family survived the Lakonia disaster, [3] the Greek cruise liner Lakonia caught fire [4]in mid Atlantic during the evening of the 22nd December, 128 of the 1022 passengers and crew on board lost their lives. At the subsequent enquiry questions over the ships seaworthiness and the behaviour of the Captain and crew led to criminal charges and a thorough review of maritime safety law.
In 1980 on returning home from University in California Senior went to work in the family’s restaurant business and took an interest in the development of Scarborough’s tourism industry, he co-founded a number of tourism groups including the South Bay Traders Association and Forum for Tourism [5]. Senior is credited with launching one of the first free public Wifi zones in Britain and was cosignatory to the Scarborough’s[6] urban renaissance programme [7] the success of which helped to win the town the title of most enterprising place in Europe 2010.[8] . Senior continues to live in Scarborough with his wife Nicola, they have a daughter, Harriet.
Military Career Senior joined the Territorial Army in 1979 and was granted a Queens Commission in 1988, serving with 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Volunteers, 4/5 Battalion the Green Howards and 16 Air Assault Brigade HQ. Mobilised for Operation Fingal on the 27th December 2001, Major Senior was the first Territorial Army Soldier [9] to be deployed into the Afghanistan theatre of operations and served with the Kabul Multi National Brigade, ISAF Commanded by Brigadier Barney White-Spunner. (present conflict). Awarded the Territorial Decoration (T.D) in 2006 [10]
Heroes Welcome In March 2008 Senior inadvertently founded the Heroes Welcome [11] initiative when he placed a hand drawn poster stating “Heroes Welcome Here” in the window of the Golden Grid Fish Restaurant [12] .The scheme which is free to join has since developed into a national network of Heroes Welcome Towns and Cities where a special warm welcome is offered to members of the Armed Forces. [13] Hampshire was the first County to join Heroes Welcome and did so at a ceremony hosted by the Chairman of the Council Cllr Anna Mc'Nair Scott and held in the Great Hall of Winchester Castle on Armistice Day 2011, [14] North Yorkshire County Council will join the scheme in January 2012. Heroes Welcome UK continues to be administered from its offices based in Scarborough.
G.P. Taylor (Author) The Mariah Mundi Series It is reported that the New York times best selling author G.P Taylor [15] based the fictional character Captain Jack Charity, (a fish restaurant owning retired Army officer) on Senior [16]. A film version of the first book Mariah Mundi and the Midas Box is in preproduction [17] with a release date published of 2013 [18]
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