Published books (non-fiction)
THE PRINCE'S THORN
Edward VII and the Lady Farmer
of Sandringham
Paperback Pub: Pegasus, Cambridge,
December 2008
The controversial story of Louisa Mary Cresswell, a tenant of Appleton Farm on the Royal Sandringham Estate
from 1862-80.
(see column right and
Extracts)
☼
SKY WARDS - A History
of the Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service
(PMRAFNS)
Hale, London, 2001
The first complete and illustrated history of the PMRAFNS, telling their story from their formation in 1918 to the end of the second millennium. They nursed and cared for service personnel and civilians through two world wars, many smaller conflicts and also in peace-time, in huge hospitals, hutted wards and tented field hospitals. Today they are still caring for the sick and wounded, in co-operation with the medical and nursing services of both the British Army, the Royal Navy, and the military services of many other nations. (see column right for more, or read an Extract)
☼
The ‘Felbrigg Hall’ trilogy of memoirs, my
best-selling titles so far and still selling well
True stories of life, laughter and hard work
behind the scenes with the
National Trust
at Felbrigg Hall, near Cromer, Norfolk.
COBWEBS AND CREAM TEAS Orion, London, 1990
DRY ROT AND DAFFODILS Orion, London, 1994
FROGSPAWN AND FLOOR POLISH Summersdale, 2003 (ordinary paperback out of print from July 2009 but I still have copies for sale and the Large Print is still out there)
☼
CREATIVE EDITING
How to Edit your own work before an editor sees it
A 'How-to' book for writers struggling to get beyond their first draft
Gollancz/Orion, 1995
Commentary
THE PRINCE'S THORN: Louise Cresswell wrote her own account Eighteen Years on Sandringham Estate (Pub. 1887) in which she blamed the Prince of Wales and his local agent for driving her into bankruptcy and exile. For over a century her story has been accepted as the truth. However, three years of intensive research have uncovered a whole new side to the story. Documents hidden deep in several County Record Offices, at the National Archive, Kew, the British Library, the Palace of Westminster (houses of Parliament) and the Royal Archive at Windsor Castle, revealed that the Lady Farmer was, to say the least, an unreliable witness.
SKY WARDS: I was very proud and privileged to be commissioned by Air Commodore Bob Williams (the first male Matron-in-Chief of the PMRAFNS), to write this important book. It gave me the chance to meet many charming ladies, some of them in their late eighties, who had amazing stories to tell of their adventures, hardships and derring-do while in the service. I trust my book does them all justice.
This was a huge task which took me over two years to research, covering eight decades, two world wars and, geographically, half the world. One of my proudest achievements was compiling the first-ever complete list of all RAF Hospitals from 1918-2000.
We have been honoured to be invited to attend several official functions, including the dedication of a new PMRAFNS window in the church at RAF Halton and a special lunch in spring 2008.
November 2008: the PMRAFNS celebrated their 90th Anniversary with a very special Cocktail Party at RAF Museum Hendon, to which Chris and I, much to our delight, were invited, along with 130 serving and retired members of the Service. I was asked to say a few words about the history of the Service to begin the evening and later to introduce a new slide show on the history. We also met the current royal patron, HRH the Princess Alexandra. A great treat.