John Verney

Sir John Verney, 2nd Baronet, MC (30 September 1913 – 2 February 1993 ) was an author, illustrator, painter, and soldier. His best-known work is a memoir of his experiences of the Italian campaigns of the Second World War, Going to the Wars, published in 1955. He also wrote a number of books for children and young adults and was the inventor, compiler and illustrator of the Dodo Pad diary, still produced annually today.

Early life and education Verney was born in London on 30 September 1913, the son of Ralph Verney, who later went on to become secretary to the Speaker of the House of Commons and was created 1st Baronet Verney, of Eaton Square in 1946, and Janette Cheveria Hamilton (née Walker), an Australian heiress. He was captured, but along with two others he escaped from a train and managed to rejoin the Eighth Army after three months hiding out in the Abruzzi mountains. He saw service in France and Germany as a major in the Royal Armoured Corps. He was awarded the Military Cross in 1944,

In 1965 he produced the Dodo Pad 'a combined memo-doodle-engage-diary-message-ment book' for the year 1966. With a gap in 1972, he produced a Dodo Pad every year until 1992. The Dodo Pad is still produced today and follows the same structure and format he devised to keep track of his large family.

On the death of his father in February 1959, Verney succeeded to the title of the 2nd Baronet Verney, of Eaton Square, City of Westminster. In 1968, he was elected to Farnham urban district council as an independent, and helped found the Farnham Trust, now one of the oldest building preservation trusts in the UK. A number of his paintings depicting local scenes are displayed in the Museum of Farnham. In the early 1980s he served as chairman of the Gainsborough Museum at Sudbury, Suffolk.

Personal life In 1939 Verney married Lucinda Musgrave (known as Jan). They had seven children – two boys and five girls; their eldest son, Julian, died aged 8 in November 1948. John Verney died aged 79, on 2 February 1993 at his home, the White House, in Clare, Suffolk. He was succeeded in his title by Sir John Sebastian Verney, 3rd Baronet, also an author.