Chris Stoddart

Chris Stoddart was born in London, UK, and spent most of his working life in independent television. During this time, Chris and his American girlfriend, Hazel, helped Czech friends and their children escape to the West from Soviet-occupied Czechoslovakia. Chris and Hazel subsequently got married. After a varied and happy life in the UK and USA, Hazel started suffering from dementia. Chris later wrote "Finding Hazel" as a celebration of their Czech friends' journey to freedom, of Hazel's life, and of her and Chris' love for one another. "Finding Hazel" is, as its subtitle says, a memoir of friendship and freedom, love and loss.