William Lindesay OBE was born in Wallasey, UK, in 1956, and studied geography and geology at Liverpool University. His interest in the Great Wall of China started early and in 1987 he made what China's official Xinhua News Agency described as 'the most successful foreign exploration of the Great Wall'. As a Great Wall historian, Lindesay has published several accounts of his explorations and expeditions and initiated campaigns to preserve and protect China's most famous cultural landmark for which he was awarded an OBE in 2006. Lindesay currently lives in Beijing with his family.