3:40pm Friday 27th August 2010
By Will Gore
As a teenager Isleworth resident John Burton, 77, worked as a whaler but in recent times he has become a leading anti-whaling campaigner. He has now written a book, Ta-ra Johnny Boy: Boy Whaler to Rainbow Warrior, about his experiences which he hopes will alert more people to the cause. Will Gore reports.
Will Gore: Why did you choose to write this book?
John Burton: Having been a whaler up in the north-east from the age of 16 to 20, I decided to try and forget about the horrible days I had spent on those boats. I moved down to London and got married and made a life down here. My eldest daughter became a Greenpeace campaigner and she said to me that I should put my experience as a whaler to some use and offer my services which is what I did – I have become a poacher turned gamekeeper.
WG: Was it hard to relive your experience on board the whaling boats?
JB: Yes. I have been in tears many times watching the killing of whales subsequently. It was like a delayed reaction as I remembered the moments when I had done similar things. It was hard for me to get back into the mind of myself as a boy and when I was writing about the whale kills themselves I’d find myself quietly crying but I had to get it all down.
WG: Writing the book has been a long process for you, hasn’t it?
JB: It has taken me five years to write. I set myself a target of 1,500 words a day and I stuck to that. The final manuscript was huge but my daughter has helped me to cut it down. It is in typescript form and I now need to get it published – not just for my sake but because of the whaling. I want people to read it and pass on the message that whales are sacrosanct and should be saved.
WG: How big an issue is whaling at the moment?
JB: It’s enormous. The way I see it is the Japanese are on the verge of getting the whaling ban lifted completely and we will back to the days of pre-1986, before the ban was brought in. Greenpeace are doing all they can but the fight has got to be maintained.
John Burton is currently looking for a publisher for Ta-ra Johnny Boy. For more information about the book and anti-whaling campaigning, email angelaburton@ bt.com.
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