McEwan was born in Aldershot in England and spent much of his childhood in the Far East , Germany and North Africa where his father , an officer in the army , was posted . McEwan was born in Aldershot , Hampshire , on 21 June 1948 , the son of David McEwan and Rose Lilian Violet ( nÃ e Moore ) . He spent much of his childhood in East Asia ( including Singapore ) , Germany and North Africa ( including Libya ) , where his father , a Scottish army officer , was posted .