John Mellor was a volunteer with the British Naval Commandos - on the beach in the Dieppe Raid and at Normandy on D-Day. He carried shrapnel from Dieppe the rest of his life. He was a sailor with the Royal Navy until 1953, then had a varied career as electrical engineer, high school teacher and freelance writer. His first book, Dieppe: Canada's Forgotten Heroes, took the prestigious Canadian Authors' Association Award for Literary Excellence and the Canadian Non-Fiction Award.