AustLit

George Finkel was born at South Shields at the mouth of the River Tyne. After leaving school he became a cadet chemical engineer and joined the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. In 1934, Finkel began flying with the Imperial Airways Company on routes through Europe and Africa.

In World War II Finkel served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve and, after his migration to Australia, served in the Australian Fleet Air Arm during the Korean War. He also worked at the Nowra Naval Air Base.

Finkel began writing in the late 1950s while based at Nowra and his aviation experiences were often evident in his novels. Finkel also wrote serveral biographies for children of Australian explorers, works of non-fiction, and historical stories based in the Saxon era and the English Civil War period.

(Sources include: The Oxford Companion to Australian Children's Literature (OUP, 1993) and Authors & Illustrators of Australian Children's Books (1989).)