My Profile
I was born in 1938, which technically means I am now old, but as I haven't been old before, I don't feel qualified to answer questions about it just yet.
I was born in Llanelli, South Wales, UK. We moved to the county of Kent, 38 miles south of London when I was 4 years old, so I was brought up 'English', and consequently think of myself as being as much English as I am Welsh.
My education was supplied by the Sheerness Technical School for Boys, and from here I 'graduated' into the Naval Dockyard at Sheerness in 1953 where I served a five year apprenticeship as a Shipwright, and then one year as a journeyman Shipwright/draughtsman.
Pat and I married in 1959, and I was conscripted into the Royal Air Force five weeks later. Recession in the shipbuilding industry, coupled with the ridiculous wages paid to a conscript, led me to apply for selection as Aircrew. They must have been desperate for aircrew at the time and their selection system badly flawed, because somehow I got selected.
I spent 24 years in the RAF as aircrew, most of this time on long range jet aircraft. I began on the world's first pure jet airliner the de Havilland Comet of 216 Squadron. Then I moved onto the new VC10, of 10 Squadron and spent the next 20 years between these two squadrons; twelve of these years involved flying the Royal Family and Ministers of State around the world. My last three years in the RAF were spent in Germany as a Seagull in Combat Operations, with the Phantom F4.
We left the RAF in 1983, for me to become an Artist, and we won the Wiltshire New Business competition in the first year – which gave us amongst other things an accountant and an agent. I then had one day off in two years, and Pat and I found the quality was going out of life, so we quit.
After a comedy of errors, I found myself a project manager in Industry; then a systems manager who had never used a computer before! I learnt quickly – my software won an award for 'Most Innovative Use of Software in British Industry – 1988'. We were taken over by a Blue Chip company who made me their Divisional Systems Manager (don't ask how or why!).
The Department of Trade and Industry asked to borrow me, and I was seconded onto the CIM2000 project, working with Strathclyde and Cambridge Universities.
On completion of CIM200, I returned to my PLC, and was made Production Director. Shortly after I was head hunted and became the Manufacturing Director in a team which specialised in turning around companies in distress.
Finally I worked myself into a heart attack, and was forced to retire in 1996 – I would never be able to work again, the medics declared! I decided to become a 'student', and study subjects I knew nothing at all about. I picked up a BSc (Hons) in Social Policy in 2004, and a diploma in Criminology along the way. Since going onto an MA in Criminology and an MSc in Social Research Methods.
I am currently one third of the way through a BA (Hons) English Literature, and have completed a Creative Writing course as part of that. I now write regularly.
