Robert Griffin joined the British army in 1967 as a 17-year-old junior leader and served for many years as a crewman in armoured fighting vehicles in the 4/7th Royal Dragoon Guards in BAOR, BATUS, Cyprus, Northern Ireland, the UK and Bosnia. A recognized expert on post-war armour, he has written a number of books and articles on the tanks of the Cold War period, including works on the FV-214 Conqueror, Chieftain, Challenger 1 and FV432.