Norman Hicks was born at Walton Hall near Wakefield Yorkshire in 1948. He left home in nearby Royston at the age of 16 to join the Royal Air Force as a boy apprentice in 1964. Qualifying as an operating Theatre Technician he served at home and abroad in Aden (South Arabia) 1967 and Cyprus 1970-73. Upon retirement, having an interest in both railways and the military he decided to write the biography of his father Tom.