[b]Philip McCutchan[/b] (1920-1996) was a British author who grew up near Portsmouth dockyard and maintained a lifelong interest in the sea and military history. He served on war ships during WWII including the cruiser [i]Vindictive[/i], the escort carrier [i]Ravager [/i]and the ocean boarding vessel [i]Largs[/i], ending the war as a Lieutenant, RNVR. He wrote over 80 books about the British army and its campaigns, including the [i]Halfhyde Adventure[/i] series, the [i]Commander Shaw[/i] series and the [i]James Ogilvie[/i] series. He also wrote under the pseudonyms [b]Duncan MacNeil[/b] and [b]Robert Conington[/b].