Patrick Leigh Fermor was born in London, England on February 11, 1915. During World War II, he was the architect of the kidnapping of the commander of the German garrison on Crete. He wrote several books including A Time of Gifts, Between the Woods and the Water, The Traveller's Tree, The Violins of Saint-Jacques, Mani, and Roumeli. He was also a translator. He received a military OBE in 1943. He died on June 10, 2011 at the age of 96.