During World War II, Irving's father was an officer aboard the light cruiser HMS "Edinburgh". On 30 April 1942, while escorting Convoy QP 11 in the Barents Sea, the ship was badly damaged by the German submarine U-456. Two days later, the ship was attacked by a surface craft, and now beyond recovery was abandoned and scuttled by a torpedo from HMS "Foresight". Irving's father survived, but severed all links with his wife and children after the incident.