John Van der Vord was born in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire in 1940. He spent some of his early years in Kirkuk, Iraq where his father worked for Iraq Petroleum. He was educated at Drax (Reed) Grammar School in West Yorkshire. His professional life was spent with several multi-national companies working in senior Sales Management. Married to Elizabeth with two grown up sons and three grandchildren. One of the sons lives and works in the USA. Now retired, his hobbies include walking and Amateur Drama.