John had been born in Kenya. He returned to England for his education and lived with his grandmother. He was a devout Roman Catholic.
John Horne became good friends with Lady Grogan, the owner of Bingham's Melcombe House in Dorset. The elderly Lady Grogan learnt that John was trying to teach himself Spanish. She had spent several years travelling in South America earlier in life and could still remember a good deal of the Spanish she had learned there and offer to help him. If he had a spare hour he would come over to the house and they would sit together in the library.
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bingham's Melcombe House, Dorset | Royal Engineers Non-Commissioned Officer | unknown | Jan 1944 |
| Operation Houndsworth | SAS combatant | 11 Jul 1944 | 06 Sep 1944 |
| SAS 1944-1945 | SAS combatant | 30 Jan 1944 | Unknown |
| SAS 1944-1945 | SAS combatant | 30 Jan 1944 | Unknown |
He was appointed as the Area Royal Engineers NCO for Dorset.
In January 1944 he joined the SAS alongside most of the two Scout Sections in Dorset. On 11 Jul 1944 he was dropped with two other sappers and two members of REME to join A squadron, 1 SAS on Operation Houndsworth. They were being dropped with a Jeep, which unfortunately crashed to ground as its parachutes failed and was destroyed. They had flown from Tarrant Rushton airfield, 17 miles from his former base at Bingham's Melcombe
Dorset Record Office 871/1/1
SAS War Diary