Robert Westall was born October 7, 1929, in Tynemouth, England. He received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Durham (with high honors), and his doctorate degree from the University of London. He taught art and later became head of the department at Sir John Deane's College as well as serving as head of careers guidance. Westall saw himself as a teacher who wrote. An interview with Westall revealed that he had an extremely happy childhood and shared a close relationship with his father who was the foreman-engineer of a gasworks. His father appears in two of his novels, The Machine Gunners and its sequel, Fathom Five.

Westall began writing stories for his son, Christopher. The author wanted to share his own childhood with his son, especially what it was like to grow up in England during World War II. Christopher read all Westall's...