John`s grandfather was a doctor in France during the Great War and later police surgeon in Glasgow. On 10 May 1941, he was called to an injured man who had parachuted from a Messerschmitt 110 south of Glasgow. It was Rudolf Hess, Deputy Fuhrer of the Third Reich and leader of the NAZI party. Hess had flown to Scotland in a sincere but ill-fated attempt to meet the King and end the war between Britain and Germany. John`s mother became a doctor in 1944. His father saw active service as a Spitfire pilot with the RAF during WWII and flew offensive operations against the Luftwaffe in North Africa and during the blitz of Malta in 1942. After the war, he returned to his studies and qualified as a doctor in 1950. John was born in Scotland on 19 October 1948. He was educated at Xavier College and Melbourne University, graduating in law and philosophy in 1972. He was admitted to practice law by the Supreme Court of Victoria on 1 May 1973 and practised principally as a criminal defence lawyer. Until 1982 he was a reserve officer in the Royal Australian Air Force and acted for the defence at courts-martial across Australia. For leisure, John enjoys reading and writing on matters historical and biographical. He would rather be fishing, however. ©