Jim Dawkins

Harlow-born Jim Dawkins left home in Eltham at the age of sixteen to pursue a career in the army and served with the Royal Green Jackets from 1985 to 1991, including tours of Canada and Northern Ireland. Upon leaving the army, he joined the Prison Service and spent the next seven years training and working in Wandsworth, Wormwood Scrubs and Belmarsh prisons. In 1999, Jim left the Prison Service, ill with stress and disillusioned by the abuse levelled out to inmates by many of the staff. Jim eventually settled down with his childhood sweetheart, Natasha, and has two daughters, Lauren and Morgan and a son, Thomas. One of Jim’s goals in life is to fight for the rights of long-term high-security inmate, Charlie Bronson, with whom he has struck up a remarkable friendship. He wants the prison service to pull itself out of the Victorian mentality and give Charlie the chance he deserves to work towards his release and lead the normal life he yearns for.