John Burns Hynd was born in Perth, Scotland, on 4 April 1902, the son of Henry Hynd and his wife Ann, JP. He was educated at St Ninian's Episcopal School, Perth, and Caledonian Road School, Perth. At the age of thirteen, Hynd left school in order to help his mother raise his siblings. He continued his education at night school, where he learnt shorthand-typing, economics and foreign languages. In 1927, he married Elsie Margaret Doran, with whom he had one daughter. From 1916 to 1925, Hynd worked as a Railway Clerk at the District Office, Perth, for Caledonian Railways, and subsequently for London, Midland and Scottish Railways (LMSR) and from 1925 to 1944, he worked as a Trade Union Clerk for the National Union of Railwaymen (NUR). Hynd was a long-serving Labour MP for the Attercliffe Division of Sheffield (1944-1970) and from 1945 to 1947, he was Chancellor of Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for Germany and Austria. In 1947, Hynd served as Minister of Pensions and between 1950 and 1955, he was a Member of the General Medical Council. In the 1960s, Hynd was Chairman of the Anglo-Latin American Parliamentary Group. He also served as a delegate to the Council of Europe and the Western European Union and chaired the Anglo-German Parliamentary Group. Hynd was awarded the Grand Cross of Merit with Star (West German Republic) in 1958, the Chevalier of Legion of Honour (France) and the Great Golden Cross of Honour with Star (Austria). He received the Honorary Freedom of the City of Sheffield in 1970. In 1966, Hynd published ‘Willy Brandt: A Pictorial Biography’. He died on 8 November 1971.