George Irvine Finkel, born in South Shields, Durham, England, in 1909, was the eldest son of George Edward Finkel and his wife Grace Amy, nee Stephenson. An engineer in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, George came to Australia in 1952 on loan to the Royal Australian Navy. He settled in Valley Heights in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, New South Wales. He wrote many books for children including biographies, adventure stories and historical novels. He also completed a series of history books "From Colony to Commonwealth". George Finkel died in February 1975.