Born in Hampshire, Mel Kavanagh spent his childhood in Surrey before joining the RAF in 1972.
He comes from a family steeped with military history. His father served with the army during WWII, serving overseas. Other relations served in the Royal Navy and RAF. His grandfather was at the Battle of Jutland during WWI aged just 16.
He spent many years in IT as a computer programmer and systems analyst before retraining as a teacher in 2003.