James Hurst was born in Perth and studied at the University of Western Australia. He has since worked at the Universities of Western Australia and New South Wales and for the Department of Defence. For many years he has researched the Gallipoli Campaign in general and the 11th Battalion in particular, visiting the peninsula five times for research purposes. He has written a number of articles on the subject and produced an interactive CD-ROM guide to the campaign. James currently lives in South Australia with his wife and daughter.