Mark Simmons was born in Plymouth, Devon, in 1953, into a family with a long tradition of service in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. In the 1970s he served in the Royal Marines with 40 Commando RM, 3 Commando Brigade, and with the Commando Logistics Regiment.
Mark has written over 100 articles for publications in the UK and USA, primarily on naval/military and travel subjects. He is a correspondent for Warships International Fleet Review magazine, and runs an internet bookshop, Rowan Oak Books, selling a wide range of titles.
His other books include: A Crack in Time (2004), a search for the echoes of the American Civil War; From the Foam of the Sea (2007); The Serpent and the Cross (2010), the story of an SOE operation in Italy during the Second World War; and The Battle of Matapan 1941 (Spellmount, 2011).