I. C. B. Dear (Ian Dear) is a full-time writer specializing in maritime and military history. He formerly served in the Royal Marines, and later worked in the film and book publishing industries. His most recent book, 'The Tattie Lads', was nominated for the Mountbatten Literary Award in 2016 and he is the author/editor/contributor of over 30 books including six novels, three under the pen name Ian Blake.