Nicholas Peter Christian Waloff was born on 20th August 1951 in Hammersmith London.  A postwar baby, his parent Dmitri - a Russian emigre, and Gretel Waloff had waited 11 years for the arrival of their firstborn.  As the eldest of three, Nick was always the apple of his mother's eye.

Nicholas was a studious and serious child, and developed some of his life interests at a very early age - these included genealogy, history, geology, geography and archeology.  And of course books.   These were indoor interests.  Nick had limited affinity with sporting life.  He attended Ealing junior schools, and then won a scholarship to Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith.  Whilst at Latymer, he researched his Danish origins from his mother's side, and mapped out a large family tree from conversations with relatives and any available documents and accounts.

From Latymer, he won a place to study Geography at Emmanuel College Cambridge, and this began a lifelong involvement with that college.  Nick graduated with an upper second in 1973.

After Cambridge his studies continued at Newcastle University and he attained a second degree in Town Planning.  He settled in the North East for a while, where he met his first wife, a Canadian.  Nick left the UK in 1978 to get married and live in Ottawa in Canada, and there another of his interests manifested itself - beer and brewing.  Nick was the founder member of CAMRA Canada.  Whilst living in Ottawa, Nick worked as an education co-ordinator, housing economist, and a research associate with housing co-operatives.