About me:
This is where you can find out a bit more about me.
See also my list of published works.
I am more or less retired and live in Worcestershire, England with my better half. We have three ex-children scattered around the globe; Jo, Jenny and Robin.
I am currently working on a biography of J W Dunne; soldier, aviation pioneer, fly fisherman and philosopher extraordinaire.
Many of my interests are plastered all over this web site; several may be found on my blocki (blog-cum-wiki). Others include F&SF, (not very fine) art, 70s-era rock, and free and open source licensing models. I contribute to wikipedia where I call myself steelpillow.
At university I studied architecture and philosophy. Then I changed course to study electronics and industrial design, and became an electronics engineer specialising first in scientific instrumetation and later in electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) design and testing. At the end of the Cold War I set up Holdfast Computing to design, manufacture and sell computer input devices for young children and special needs. With the rise of the commodity PC, I left manufacturing and changed course yet again, taking up technical authoring before becoming a freelance Technical Consultant and Author. In retirement I have turned to more general historical writing, though little of this new direction is published as yet.
Life fellow of the RSA - Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.
Gloucester, UK branch of the International Plastic Modelling Society, on whom I occasionally inflict models of fictional aircraft from a half-finished historical novel.
The Downian Society committee: old pupils of The Downs Malvern preparatory school (formerly the Downs School, Colwall).
Long-term but lapsing memberships (sorry about that folks, cashflow of the unpublished writer, y'know) of the Liberal Democrats.
Former Councillor for the Worcestershire Parish of Longdon, Queehill and Holdast, and Parish representative on the Malvern Hills Area CALC.
Degrees in: Architecture & Philosophy (Cantab – Churchill), Environmental Studies (UCL – The Bartlett) and Electronics Design (OU).
Public School: Bryanston (1966 - 70).
Prep Schools: The Downs School, Colwall (1964 - 65). Brocksford Hall, Derbyshire (1960 - 1963. Earlywood, Berks (1960). Westbourne, Sheffield (1958 - 1960).
Father Peter Inchbald, designer of the University of Hull Mace, writer of the Franco Corti detective stories and sometime painter and sculptor, among other things. Died 2 July 2004. In 2013 I was able to publish his autobiography, Jack of All Trades: and His Family, in both paperback and ebook editions.
Grandfather (maternal) Sir Joseph Nall, MP for Hulme, Manchester.
Great grandfather Sir John Bingham, founder of Bingham Park, Sheffield.
Great-great-great grandfather the Rev. Dr. Peter Inchbald, who for a few years ran a boys' school at Adwick Hall, Adwick-le-Street, Yorkshire (now demolished). The house had at one time been occupied, and possibly built, by a branch of the Washington family to which George Washington, founding President of the USA, belonged. The "stars and bars" motif is to be seen on the Washington coat of arms in the surviving church nearby.
Updated 12 Apr 2021