Gerald Firth

I was a late-starter - a very late starter. I left school with no qualifications whatsoever. I believe I had then what we now know as dyslexia. My teachers thought I was just stupid and treated me accordingly. Recently, I underwent an IQ test and discovered that I have an IQ of 130.

I began my working life as an apprentice motor-mechanic. The Queen then invited me to join her Armed Forces in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, for two years National Service.

Since my release, I have had a diverse working life - door-to-door selling, for example. For about eight years, I was Assistant Buyer in the Ladies Wear department for a mail order catalogue. Next followed over sixteen years as an operator at the Bolton Telephone Exchange, during which time I was a trade union representative, reaching a senior position.

I, my wife and our son emigrated to Spain having bought a small business, that of holiday home management. Unfortunately, it crumbled before our eyes, forcing us back to England in 1995, penniless, homeless and jobless. For five years I worked in the call centres of two utility companies.

I had been merely ‘dabbling’ in writing up to this time, mainly writing the story of my family and my childhood. Since retiring the ‘writing bug’ has been nibbling away at me. I have produced screenplays and stage scripts and short stories. I have also written a number of novels and my autobiography.