Richard Brett-Knowles was born in Essex in 1924. Educated at St Catherine's College of Oxford University, with a life-long interest in radio engineering, Brett Knowles worked for the Telecommunications Research Establishment during World Word 2 which developed early radar technology. During the latter years of the war he joined the RAF, learnt to fly aeroplanes, and spent time in occupied Dutch territory learning about German radar technology.

In 1946 he joined the Royal Navy as an Instructor Officer, teaching at Dartmouth College. During this time he participated in the British North Greenland Expedition as an assistant scientist and radio officer from 1952 to 1954. The expedition was a pioneering British-led attempt to conduct research in several areas including polar geology, seismology, meteorology, physiology, gravimetry, radio communications and developing expertise in polar logistics.

Later, Brett-Knowles left the Navy and joined the Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment where he was involved in several research and development projects. Following early retirement he became a consultant engineer and contributed to the development of products in the commercial aerospace industry. After retirement Brett-Knowles continued his life-long amateur radio hobby up until his death in 2015.