Bernard D. Fardy was born in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1949. On completion of high school he left the province and travelled and lived for several years in western Canada and the United States. He returned to Newfoundland in 1971 and studied Forestry Technology at the Cabot Institute of Applied Arts and Technology. Upon graduation he was employed by the Newfoundland Government and worked for twenty-five years with the Department of Forestry and Agriculture as a Forestry, Land Use and Cartographic Technician. An avid student of Canadian and Newfoundland history, he has written several books including: Jerry Potts: Paladin of the Plains; Capt. David Buchan in Newfoundland; William Epps Cormack: Newfoundland Pioneer; Under Two Flags; Demasduit: Native Newfoundlander; Liefsburdir: The Vikings in Newfoundland; John Cabot: The Discovery of Newfoundland; and Before Beaumont Hamel: The Royal Newfoundland Regiment 1775–1815. His articles have also appeared in the Newfoundland Quarterly and Canadian Frontier.