Biographical note

Donald S V Fosten was born in London in 1924, the son of a master military embroiderer and a Court Embroidress. He worked as a student with the Herald Painter at the College of Arms before wartime army service which was initially spent with the Welch Regiment in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, Austria and Germany. For many years a leading researcher and author on uniform history, he produced, with his brother Bryan Fosten, a number of books and many articles. He was a President of the British Model Soldier Society BMSS and a leading member of the Society for Army Historical Research. Robert Marrion is an expert on the forces of World War I. He has co-authored various titles for Osprey's Men-at-Arms series on this subject. Gerry Embleton has been a leading historical illustrator since the early 1970s. An illustrator of a number of Osprey titles including Men-at-Arms 81: The British Army 1914-18 and Men-at-Arms 65: The Royal Navy 1790-1970, he now lives in Switzerland.