John Hillier is the son of a career railwayman, his father having worked as a technical assistant to Sir Nigel Gresley before eventually joining BR Engineering's HQ staff. It was therefore not unsurprising that, with an interest in railways and also photography, he became an active railway photographer in the 1960s, towards the end of steam in the UK.

Invited to join the prestigious Railway Photographic Society in 1966, he was a member until its demise in 1976 and then joined its successor, the Rail Camera Club, of which he is still an active participant. His photographic style is varied and, having been a member of several camera clubs and secretary of two, his work has appeared in books and magazines and in photographic exhibitions.

In 2018 he organized a successful exhibition, Rail Cameramen, at Locomotion, Shildon which featured more than 100 images from all RCC members, past and present, and was the author of Silver Link's first volume of The Photographic Artistry of Rail Cameramen which included all these pictures. Such was the success of that book that he has produced this second volume for Silver Link Publishing. He has contributed to some of SLP's 'Past & Present' titles and recently authored Locomotives & Recollections No 45596 Bahamas, which was published in July 2019. In his spare time, he is a director of the Bahamas Locomotive Society and led the project group which resulted in the engine's £1m overhaul and its return to the main line in 2019.