John Carr was born in North Staffordshire in 1948 of mixed Greek and English parentage. He is now semi-retired from a long career as a journalist, correspondent and broadcaster (The Times, Wall Street Journal Europe, Vatican Radio) mainly in the Mediterranean and particularly Greece, where he now resides, indulging his love of Greek history. His previous books for Pen & Sword are On Spartan Wings, a history of the Royal Hellenic Air Force in WWII (2012), and Sparta's Kings (2012)