Eric Roach was born in Tobago in 1915. After a secondary education at Bishop High School Tobago, he entered the teaching profession. In 1939, he joined the army in Trinidad and served as a volunteer with the South Caribbean forces during World War II. After a short stint in the Civil Service, he worked as a journalist with the Trinidad Guardian and The Nation. At the age of 39 he turned his attention to writing and produced many short stories, poems, plays, articles, and a radio serial. He published poems using the pseudonym, Merton Maloney. He was also a regular contributor to the BBC Caribbean Voices programme. He died in 1974.