General Sir John Hackett was born in Western Australia in 1910 and educated at Geelong Grammar School and New College, Oxford. He was commissioned into the 8th Hussars in 1931, and remained a regular soldier until 1968. During the Second World War he fought in Syria, the Western Desert and Italy, and also at the Battle of Arnhem.
From 1968 to 1975 he was was Principal of King's College, London. He was President of both the Classical Association and the English Association of the United Kingdom.
His publications include The Third World War (1978), The Third World War: The Untold Story (1982) and The Profession of Arms (1983).
