Joined the Royal Naval Air Service at the beginning of World War 1, although he crashed his plane. He then went into the Royal Army Service Corps, where he was badly injured making him unable to fight.  He next joined the merchant navy on a ship to Vancouver, where he was accused of theft, receiving a sentence of hard labour at Oakala Prison Farm in Canada.

Became Professor of English Literature at the University of Punjab in 1925 where he began writing a series of spy stories.  The first, The Mystery of Tunnel 51, was published in 1928.  It is reported that his work as a British Spy started around the time he was working in India.

Wrote more than 24 novels and 3 academic books during his career, the most famous being his Wallace of the Secret Service novels.

Alexander Joseph Patrick Wilson may have been an intelligence agent and intelligence officer who lived and worked undercover.  This may explain his many varied occupations.

Worked as a spy for the British Secret Service.  His work for both MI5 & MI6 has been declared as case sensitive and no information has ever been released to his family.

Had 4 wives and 7 children, keeping each family a secret from the other until his death in 1963, when his third wife Alison discovered he had another wife, the first lady he married, Gladys.  He never divorced, so only his first marriage was ever legal.