ABOUT ME


Here's me (some time ago!) with the portrait of PC Thomas Bottomley. Painted by John Sowden in 1889, it is held in the archives at Bradford's Cartwright Hall art gallery.

About me 

Thank you for taking the time to learn a little more about me. I’ll try and be brief.

For many years I worked in the food industry, travelling across the UK, trying to hit improbable sales targets and contending with irascible buyers. 

Of course there were several benefits – not least the ‘all you can eat’ product tasting sessions – but eventually even my enthusiasm for scoffing cakes and pastries began to wane. 

So I took some time out, worked in the local pub for a while, tried my hand at charity fundraising and took an on-line writing course for fun.

And it was fun. After a day at work I couldn’t wait to get home to tackle the next writing assignment. 

Combining writing with another great passion – genealogy – where I’d already revealed some amazing stories in my family’s social history, allowed me to tell their tales through articles in various publications, locally, nationally and internationally.

My first book, Victorian Policing was published by Pen & Sword on 15 November 2017 – and you can read some of the reviews here. My second book, Struggle and Suffrage in Wakefield was published in April 2019, and I have a contract for a third book (watch this space!).

Of course, as most writers are aware, becoming a published author is rarely the road to untold wealth, so I combined my passion for the written word and my eye for detail, underwent training and bravely launched myself as a freelance copyeditor, proofreader and copywriter. And the rest, as they say, is history!

Struggle & Suffrage in Wakefield

Much has been written about the men of Wakefield, but apart from a couple of well-documented individuals, the women of Wakefield have remained largely ignored.


Yet many women in this prosperous West Riding town worked hard to improve their lives and those of other women. 


Whether this was healthcare, housing, working conditions or providing refuge and training so that girls with no means of support could be made fit for employment, Wakefield’s women worked separately and together to achieve their mutual goals.


Some were active campaigners and lobbyists, others chose vocations that quietly improved the lives of the women around them.


Struggle and Suffrage in Wakefield uses historical newspaper articles, minutes of meetings, annual reports, first-hand stories and research into census returns to illustrate how women’s lives changed over a 100-year period and reveal some of those Wakefield women whose influence made things happen.


Published as one of their History imprints, Struggle & Suffrage in Wakefield is available to order from Pen & Sword

Victorian Policing

What was life like for the Victorian bobby? 

I became fascinated with the history of the early police forces when researching the life of my great, great grandfather; one of the longest-serving constables in Bradford. 

Although a citation claimed his style of policing was merely to cuff the offender round the ear and send him home, press reports of the time painted a much grimmer picture of life on the beat in the Victorian streets.

Handwritten Watch Committee minutes, historical newspapers and police records combine to reveal an account of how and why the various police forces were set up; the recruitment, training and expectations of the men, the issues and crimes they had to deal with, and the hostility they encountered from the people whose peace they were trying to keep.

And it wasn’t only the criminals who faced strict discipline for their misdemeanours . . .



Published by Pen & Sword as one of their History imprints, Victorian Policing is available to order from Pen & Sword.
 
Buy Victorian Policing
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