Category Archives: livesinprint

explore, livesinprint

Once Upon a Time in Longden Coleham
Peter John

Published: April 2026
Paperback: 422 pages
Price: £16.99
ISBN: 978-1-918172-15-7
Available from
The Geat British Bookshop
and
Amazon
Once Upon a Time in Longden Coleham
The Story of my Search for a Father Never Known
by Peter John

My mother, who died on New Year’s Eve 2009, never knew who her father was. Her mother never married and she was a domestic servant when she gave birth to her first child - my mother’s older brother by almost two years, whilst she was a charwoman at the time my mother was born in May 1925.

After my mother’s death I resolved to see if I could find out who her father was. However, in doing so, I was mindful of the fact that, as my mother had never known a single thing about him, I was setting myself a considerable challenge - especially as her mother had once told her that he had gone away.

Perhaps, upon reflection, it was a slightly crazy thing to do - particularly as I had no sensible plan as how to proceed, and given that what subsequently transpired turned out to be so much more than I could have ever anticipated.

livesinprint

A Country Policeman in the 1970s
Karl Bailey

Published: Nov 2025
Hardback: 52 pages
Price: £12.50
ISBN: 978-1-918172-01-0
Available from
The Great British Bookshop
A Country Policeman in the 1970s
by Karl Bailey

Reflection of the author’s personal experiences of the police service in the 1970s with different tale and stories of the time.



Having grown up in Little Minsterley it was time to see what there was for me outside of Sunny Shropshire by starting my police career in Runcorn. From there my career took me to Chester where I spent the rest of my time until retirement. Moving from, Wrexham back to Shropshire after retirement I now keep myself busy by being involved in local village life.
livesinprint, NewBooks

Halt! Who Goes There?
Peter Woodroffe


Published:Oct 2025
Extent:514 pages
Available from
The Great British Bookshop
Hardback:£23.00
Images:Colour
ISBN:9781914424816
Paperback:£15.00
Images:Colour
ISBN:9781914424823
On Amazon
Paperback:£15.00
Images:B/W
ISBN:9781914424823
Kindle:£9.99
Images:Colour
Halt! Who Goes There
by Peter Woodroffe

Peter Woodroffe served with the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers 1945-48 in the UK and Gibraltar. He then studied law and became a third-generation solicitor.

In his 95th year he is the oldest practicing solicitor out of the 180,000 odd in England and Wales.

Whilst writing this book, he lived at Cliff End beside the Sussex coast and swam in the English Channel. He plays tennis and golf.

The book spans the period 1945 to 2022.

Having met a multitude of attractive and famous individuals in the armed forces, business and sport, he tells a fund of riveting and at times uproarious stories.

Some of Peter’s many stories include: -
  • His taking on a bet to steal Robert Redford’s girlfriend.
  • Experiencing the thrill and terror whilst out of control on the Cresta Run at St. Moritz.
  • All traffic forbidden inter alia for Peter, his six year old son and Chelsea Pensioner to march down Whitehall.
  • Tail-gated in his Facel Vega by Formula One drivers.
  • His unfair cross examination on BBC news, repeated eight times in the day.
  • Something about houses of ill repute.
Reviews of Halt! WHo Goes There...

General Sir Evelyn Webb-Carter Horcott House, 19 April 2023.
Peter’s reminiscences are indeed amusing and, in some places, hysterical. There are also some wonderful pearls. There is something in this book for everybody including stories about bigwig personalities, history, art, clubs, show-biz, cars, historic homes, fine dining and lovely ladies. One thing is for sure: you won’t be bored. He has made the acquaintance of many of the great and good (and not so good) and not been shy in commenting on their strengths or weaknesses. He comes up with little-known, interesting splashes of history. One of his quests is to give readers advice as to how to live life, like “do not leave behind what you need to take with you”.

livesinprint

Front-line Policing: Can, Worms, Open
P.C. Andy Vince

Published: May 2025
Paperback: 184 pages
Price: £9.99
ISBN: 978-1-915972-74-3
Available soon from
The Great British Bookshop
and
Amazon
Front-line Policing: Can, Worms, Open
The problem(s) with Response Policing
by P.C. Andy Vince

Now retired, PC Vince writes about his experiences from a career in the Police spent entirely in uniform on the front line – ‘Response’ as it is known. During that time he attended incidents from cycling matters to murders, and everything in between.

He explains procedures and shows how the Police evolved during his career, and not for the better.

He takes the reader through the gates of a police station, behind the wheel of a police car, and into the 999 world, giving opinions and his own personal feelings about the development of what was, once, a very efficient service, and now is full of nonsense.

Response bobbies will love their side of things being shown – the bosses and government, not so much



PC Vince joined the Police following time in the forces and other jobs. He spent his entire Police career on the front line in a smaller than average Police force. He is now happily retired.
livesinprint

Come and meet the Doctor
Hugh Thomson

Published: May 2024
Paperback: 110 pages
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 978-1-915972-86-6
Available from
The Great British Bookshop
and
Amazon
Come and Meet the Doctor
by Hugh J Thomson

Childhood in the north of Scotland was full of entertaining, and sometimes shocking events, and medical school in Aberdeen was a riot of fun and pranks as well as learning to be a doctor.

Frequent trips with my friends to the far north- west of Scotland opened the door to a number of adventures, and it was during my time as a medical student that I became a Christian, which was to change the direction of my life in years to come.

After four years in Aberdeen, I worked a further six years in Edinburgh before becoming second in command to transplant pioneer, Sir Roy Calne, in Cambridge. A year in the USA exposed some highly amusing differences in culture and language, and three months at the Chinese University Hospital in Hong Kong were a delight.

Finally, I became a consultant surgeon in Birmingham, only to step out of medicine to plant a church near the city centre, and teach the bible each year in Zambia and Uganda.

My midlife crisis was taking up boxing, and I fought in a number of tournaments before retiring to pursuits more appropriate to my age.



Hugh Thomson was born and brought up in Aberdeen, and graduated from medical school there in 1977. He subsequently worked as a doctor in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Cambridge, North Carolina and Hong Kong before being appointed as a consultant surgeon at Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham in 1994.

He was one of the founding elders of City Church in Birmingham in 1999, and stepped out of medical practice to work full time for the church in 2002.

He is now retired and living in Birmingham.
livesinprint

The Life and Times of Samuel Crompton
David Leece

Published: August 2024
Paperback: 326 pages
Price: £15.00
ISBN: 978-1-915972-51-4
Available from
The Great British Bookshop


Contact David at proftry2@gmail.com
The Life and Times of Samuel Crompton
Whispers of the Industrial Revolution
by David Leece

Revolution, war, machine breaking, assassination and abduction; how one wronged inventor and his family navigated the tumultuous change and challenges of the industrial revolution. The Life and Times of Samuel Crompton looks at this period of history in terms of the people that played their part in it.

Samuel Crompton invented the spinning mule which heralded the factory system, allowing Britain to grow as an industrial power. His life became a fight for recognition. How could a principled man deal with a duplicitous and calculating world and gain a just reward for his invention?

The reader is taken on a journey from the early days of mercantile trade to beginnings of industrial change, then through Georgian England and beyond with insights into the nature of business partnerships and the struggles of working people, Myths, legends and events are interwoven to create the feel and spirit of the times. Cotton and Samuel Crompton’s invention are brought back into the foreground of our understanding of industrial and social change.

All of this is based on detailed research using a unique archive, the Crompton Papers.

This biography is different because it has the exploration of human behaviour at its heart.



David Leece was born in Bolton in 1950. He has held professorships at both Keele University and Manchester Metropolitan University. He has worked for the Open University, involving the writing of teaching materials and making and presenting radio and TV programmes.

He has published widely in Economics, Finance, and Social Policy with an international reputation for research. This book reflects his passion for history and determination to re-establish the reputation of Samuel Crompton.

David is currently Professor Emeritus, Keele University and lives with his wife, family and their dog Molly in Staffordshire.

Reviews of The Life and Times of Samuel Crompton



We Love Reading - Ambassador 1
a fascinating read into an interesting and ever changing part of our history.

We Love Reading - Ambassador 2
Samuel Crompton’s story flows and even those like myself that were previously unfamiliar with the inventor could gain a decent understanding of his life, a credit to the author’s writing and in depth knowledge of the subject matter.
I can see this being an essential foundational reading for anyone interested in the start of the industrial age and the people behind the machines that lead to the industrial revolution.

livesinprint

For The Record
Godfrey Wilkinson

Published: June 2024
Paperback: 223 pages
Price: £10.00
ISBN: 978-1-915972-38-5
Available from
The Great British Bookshop

For the Record
Four Phases of Boyhood
by Godfrey Wilkinson

A personal history.

From the dawn of the Golden Age...

... to the sunset of the Swinging Sixties.

With occasional reflections on teaching – as perceived from both sides of the classroom.

livesinprint

Travels with a Dangerous Friend
Anthony Fitzgerald

Published: Feb 2024
Paperback: 158 pages
Price: £9.99
ISBN: 978-1-915972-17-0
Available on Amazon

Travels with a Dangerous Friend
Searching the world for a message in the bottle
by Anthony Fitzgerald

Circumstances lead Anthony to emigrate to America aged eighteen. Working in lowly jobs in New York he falls in love with an older woman, moves to Chicago and lives in the African-American quarter of South Chicago.

In London he enters the advertising industry and then joins an expedition driving to Australia. In Australia, the ‘lucky country’, life teaches him drinking ‘Australia style’. Then he joins an Aussie and two Americans to drive through Africa.

Back in London, now an advertising copywriter, he earns reasonable money and unreasonable drinking habits. He fathers a child and, once again, moves on.

In Kenya he starts a company, gets married and has two children. He gets his hunting licence and goes on safaris. He travels extensively in East Africa enjoying the hedonistic lifestyle of the European in Africa. His wife parts from him and back in England he joins Time Magazine.

Time Magazine sends him back to South Africa with his new wife, and then to Holland and Scandinavia with a lifestyle of conspicuous entertainment. Although successful he becomes more dependent on alcohol. The low points are frequent and disaster looms. This is the story of his journey and final redemption.