Don Farr was born and raised in southwest London. He was educated at Emanuel School, Wandsworth, where his lifelong interest in the First World War was kindled. The peripatetic nature of his career in the Diplomatic Service, which took him to most parts of the world over a period of forty years, curbed somewhat his ability to pursue this interest. But since his retirement in 1996 he has been able to make frequent visits to the battlefields of the Western Front, the primary focus of his interest in the Great War. These visits have made a major contribution to the research he has carried out in preparing for the writing of his three books, all published by Helion. The first of these, 'The Silent General', a biography of General Sir Henry Horne, Commander of the BEF's First Army 1916-18, was published in 2007. The second, 'Mons 1914-1918: the Beginning and the End', the story of the Belgian town of Mons and its involvement in the Great War, was published the following year. Don Farr is married with three grown-up children and eight grandchildren. He and his wife live in Wokingham, Berkshire.
