Born in North London in 1973, AUSTIN J. RUDDY was educated at Highgate School and the University of Leicester, where he attained his degree in Archaeology. He has studied and collected the social and military history of the Second World War, particularly the British Home Front, for most of his life. Austin has featured on television and radio discussing wartime history. Austin worked at the Leicester Mercury newspaper for twenty years, where he was editor of the popular ‘Mr Leicester’ daily local history page. He currently works in Leicestershire as a freelance researcher and writer. He enjoys books, gardening, animals, old buildings, music, watching football and classic comedy (sometimes they overlap), plus vegan food and drink.