John Fidler was born in Northumberland in 1936 and was educated at Carlisle Grammar School and Keble College, Oxford. During National Service he held an aircrew commission and trained in Canada as a navigator. He taught history at Lancaster Royal Grammar School from 1962-97 and then served as Admissions Tutor until 2013. He published a history of the Royal Grammar School in 2009 and, at the request of the Lancaster Maritime Museum, researched and wrote a booklet about the six ships of the Royal Navy, which, since 1694, have borne the name HMS Lancaster.