Locally-born John Wilkinson, who was with Exeter City between 1995 and 2001, came through the youth ranks and made around twenty-five first-team appearances. He later moved to Singapore and won nearly thirty caps for the national side.

John became an Exeter City trainee in 1995 and quickly became a regular in the club’s youth and reserve sides. He made his debut as a substitute against Macclesfield Town in the final game of the 1997/98 season. 

John made 22 league and cup appearances - scoring twice during 1998/99 and was on the verge of staking a regular first-team when he suffered a series of injury problems including torn ligaments and a broken ankle. Consequently he only played once in each of the two subsequent seasons prior to his release in 2001. After a trial at Shrewsbury Town, John had a spell with Tiverton Town. 

Then, in 2002, John elected to pursue the opportunity to play professionally in Singapore where, over the next ten or so years, he appeared for Woodlands Wellington, Geylang United, Singapore Armed Forces (with whom he won the league and national cup), Insee Police United, Home United, Salgaocar and Tanjong Pagar United.

Having married a Singaporean in 2005, John took up local citizenship which, in turn, entitled him to represent Singapore at international level. Making his debut as a substitute against North Korea in 2007, John went on to win 29 caps scoring 4 times. He has since remained in Singapore and has worked as a TV pundit.