John Vader saw World War II service with 6th AIF in Libya, Greece and Syria. He later transferred to the RAAF and flew Spitfires in the Pacific theatre. Vader is reputed to have walked away from two Spitfire crashes, and flown a Wirraway bomber so low the propeller blades were bent. (Source: cover of Anzac). These combined experiences informed his war history writings.
In the late sixties Vader went to London to work as a journalist; he wrote articles for Purnell's Magazine and became editor of a weekly journal. It was at this stage he was commissioned to write Spitfire (1969). It was followed by Pacific Hawk (1970), Anzac (1971) and New Guinea The Tide is Stemmed (1971), some of which were included in the Ballantine/Purnell Illustrated History of World War 2 series.
Living in London, the Cotswolds and the south of France during this period, Vader began researching his other war-time histories - The Fleet Without a Friend (1971), about the French navy after surrender, and The Prosper Double-Cross: A Factual History Mystery of French Resistance (1977) which detailed the betrayal of an Englishman code-named Prosper, and the French Resistance group he led. According to the cover of his 1980 Gold Coast Book: An Illustrated History, it was during this research period he also wrote five short novels for a Monte-Carlo publisher. These have not been traced. The Pottery and Ceramics of David and Hermia Boyd (1977) resulted from time Vader spent in France at Tourette-sur-Loop helping the Boyds to set up their studio. Antique Bottle Collecting in Australia (1975) was also written during this era.
After eight years abroad, Vader returned to live on a cattle breeding farm near Byron Bay, writing Leatherwork for Australians (1979) and Red Cedar: The Tree of Australia's History (1987) which was revised in 2002 with the title Red Gold: The Tree That Built a Nation.
Some of Vader's war-themed books have been translated into Turkish, Japanese, Dutch, French and Portuguese.
