A DECORATED war veteran who went on to help hundreds of learner drivers pass their tests has died at the age of 92.

John Berry, from Aycliffe Village, County Durham, was a driving instructor and manager at the British School of Motoring (BSM) in Darlington for more than 30 years.

Yet, the majority of those he taught knew nothing of his illustrious naval service during the Second World War.

Born in Sunderland in 1923 and raised in the nearby village of East Boldon, Mr Berry was one of three brothers.

He was just 17-years-old when his father died of tuberculosis caused by a gas attack in the First World War.

After leaving school, Mr Berry worked as a sales rep for a local firm called Dunn and Co and it was here he met his future wife, Celia.

He joined the Merchant Navy as a radio officer when he was 19 and set off on his first voyage on SS Empire Garrick to New York in 1942.

As part of the Atlantic Convoys, he helped bring vital war time supplies across from North America.

Crew members were not supposed to keep a diary but Mr Berry was keen to record the trip and jotted down each day’s happenings into a tiny notebook.

His entries range from observations about the weather and excitement over spotting a school of porpoises, to describing terrifying torpedo attacks.

On Tuesday, September 22, 1942, he wrote: “Two columns of convoys lost in fog. Took a distress call from ship “Mathilda” being attacked by a sub further north.

“Passed cargo wreckage from torpedoed ship in the afternoon.”

Mr Berry remained in the Merchant Navy until 1946, voyaging to Italy and the Far East.

He was awarded five medals, including the 1939-45 Star, the Atlantic Star, the Burma Star and the Italy Star.

After the war, Mr Berry returned to his former job and married his sweetheart in 1948.

The couple had two children, Peter Berry and Susan Archer.

The family moved to Newton Aycliffe in 1958 when Mr Berry joined BSM and later settled in Aycliffe Village.

Outside of work, the grandfather-of-three loved gardening, holidays in the Lake District with his late wife, walking his dog Bella and playing dominoes in the village pubs.

Mr Berry died on Wednesday, April 8, and his funeral took place at Darlington Crematorium last Wednesday (April 22).

Paying tribute to her father, Mrs Archer, of Archers Jersey Ice Cream, said: “He was a very gentle and calm man and patient too, which was why he was such a good driving instructor.

“He kept himself to himself but he knew a lot of people in Darlington through his work and was always stopping to say hello to someone.”