Chris Bilham BA LLB FRGS was born in New Zealand. His father, like those of nearly all his schoolmates, was a Second World War veteran and Chris developed a life-long interest in military and naval history. He was a member of the Territorial Army for six years (Infantry and NZSAS). He has collected and studied medals for forty years, was a founder member of the Hong Kong branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society and was awarded the Societys Award of Merit in Gold. Chris now lives in Auckland.