Gavin Lyall (1932-2003) was a Royal Airforce pilot, journalist, and prolific author of spy and aviation thrillers.

His years as a Royal Air Force pilot lent his fast paced, tautly written aviation thrillers authenticity. His first novel, The Wrong Side of the Sky, was inspired by his personal experiences in the Libyan and Greece and became an international bestseller. He also worked as a journalist, first with the Picture Post and the BBC, then as the Sunday Times' aviation correspondent.
Gavin Lyall (1932-2003) lived in Hampstead and enjoyed sailing on the Thames in his motor cruiser. From 1959 to 1962 he was a newspaper reporter and the aviation correspondent for the Sunday Times. His first novel, The Wrong Side of the Sky, was published in 1961, drawing from his personal experiences in the Libyan Desert and in Greece. Lyall left journalism in 1963 to become a full-time author, writing 17 novels before his death in 2003.