Before the war he worked with Fairey Aviation as a traveling wireless engineer.
John Hills was recruited by Colonel Gubbins in August 1940 to set up a wireless network for the Special Duties Branch, passing messages by courier proved to be too slow. Gubbins had the idea to approach the Radio Society of Great Britain for details of radio amateurs serving in the Army. John Hills was a pre-war amateur operator himself with callsign G2AW. His wife Kitty was recruited to the initial network in Kent as one of the ATS wireless operators.
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's Hall Instation | Commanding Officer Royal Signals | Aug 1940 | Dec 1941 |
(1939) Traveling wireless engineer
1940 Y section (intercept service) listening to E Boat signals from the North Sea.
16th August 1940 Gazetted to join the Intelligence Corps, the notification being subsequently cancelled a year later. This indicates when he joined Auxiliary Units.
Late 1941 went to Far East with Y intercept service.
10th January 1944 transferred to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) as War Substantive Captain.
8th February 1945 relinquished commission on grounds of disability, granted Honorary Rank of Major.
Born in Warwick to Reginald and Amy Hills (nee Gold) he married Katherine (Kitty) Hutchinson in 1931. She became an ATS Special Duties Operator.