Mike Langley, who died in 2006, was best known as a sports writer for the Daily Mirror. He won five major awards for his journalism and was the author of three successful books on soccer. His newspaper career was preceded by sailing on D-Day as an 18-year-old volunteer in a special service unit that saw action during the Normandy campaign. His biography of Anders Lassen is the only full account of Lassen’s life and exploits in English.