Jeff Steel is a child of World War II. Shocked at the sight of bombed-out London as a child, he has grappled ever since with the simple but profound question 'what happened'. His deep interest in the war has led to many heart-rending interviews with those who took part. He has undertaken endless study and travel. He has visited World War II sites from Churchill's War Rooms in London to Pearl Harbour via Dresden and the Burma Railway. His first book No Heil Hitler as ghost writer, told the compelling story a young boy's Odyssey through the horrors of Nazi-occupied Poland. It won the Philpott Prize for a (then) unpublished manuscript. He has three other World War II non-fiction titles published with Big Sky Publishing.
Joe Shuttleworth grew up in Sherwood, close to Archerfield Airport near Brisbane, Australia. In 1941, at the age of 19, he applied to join the Royal Australian Air Force and was accepted in 1942. He later qualified as a rear gunner and flew operations in a Lancaster Bomber over the Third Reich. He survived, married Freda, and upon his return to Australia, worked in managerial roles in an engineering company. He later worked in services’ repatriation hospitals in Brisbane and Melbourne. He was recognised with an MBE for achievements at the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital in Melbourne. Joe passed away in 2019.