William (Bill) Park was born in Brisbane in 1920 and served during World War II in infantry and cipher units of the Australian Army. After the war, he completed his commerce degree and spent the next 50 years in the business world. He is actively involved in many business and professional associations and charitable organisations for which he was awarded The Order of the British Empire – Commander (CBE) and Member of the Order of Australia (AM). After retirement, he became interested in military history and in particular the World War II Nominal Roll, the official website listing those who served in that conflict. He graduated from the University of Queensland in 2009 with a M. Phil in Journalism for his thesis, later published, about the World War II Nominal Roll.