John McMahon is author of Almost A Lifetime and Dunraven House.

Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada


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John McMahon was born and raised in Northern Ireland. A delivery boy for a Belfast grocery store, he joined the Royal Air Force, and the life experiences that ensued are creative inspiration for his literary achievements.

Aircraft maintenance turned into air crew training, and with the outbreak of the second world war he was sent on a mission. He was shot down in Holland and was the only plane survivor. Hidden by a Dutch family he eventually became a German prisoner of war. A gruelling two years in Stalag VIIIB in eastern Germany is depicted in Almost A Lifetime, where life was harsh, food scarce and mail infrequent. A long march in 1945, led by the German soldiers, forced a physical collapse and he was left to die. Ironically, a German civilian found him and delivered him to medical aid thereby saving his life.

John McMahon was able to make his way back to Ireland where he married his childhood sweetheart and immigrated to Canada in 1952. After raising a family and retirement he was finally able to write these books that are beloved the world over, encapsulating a life time of experiences as well as literary imaginative realms.