Raised in colonial Africa, Michael Ford completed National Service in the Royal Rhodesian Air Force, after which he was called to the Bar in England. Returning to Rhodesia in the 1970s, he appeared as defence counsel in High Court war crime trials that arose during the civil insurrection in the country. Later, he also practised law in Hong Kong. After years living abroad, the family returned to live in England in the 1990s. He and his wife later retired to the Somerset village where they presently live.