I'm not a full-time writer/author, it is purely a hobby which pays very little, but does give me a great deal of satisfaction. I began my writing exploits back in the early 1990s, copy editing letters which had been sent to a motorhome magazine Editor in the UK; I had no previous experience of such work at that time. The main reason I had been invited by him to assist with copy editing, was my years of motorhome experience, I knew my subject, and most of the letters did require answers to motorhome related questions. I did this for quite some time, without my name appearing within the magazine, but eventually I was invited by the Editor to put my name to a section of the publication relating to technical queries. If I was unable to answer a particular question, then I had several 'experts' to call upon who were specialists in their field; these pages were a popular section of the magazine (and still are), and extended to around four/five pages in Britains most popular motorhome/campervan magazine.
My specialist area has always been classic/vintage campers and motorhomes, and as the founding Editor of the magazine had been around at the dawn of the UK motorhome industry (mid-1950s), he passed on a great deal of information to me, not to mention the pick of his photographic archive! When he decided it was time to step aside from his huge volume of work at the magazine, he passed the job over to his assistant Editors, who like me, had begun on the publication as a hobby in their spare time. New people often bring new ideas and energy, and aware of my knowledge of the older motorhomes, I was asked to compile two pages within the magazine every month dedicated to that section of the UK leisure industry. 'Life in the slow lane' became a very popular section of the magazine, in which I would write about my own exploits, answer technical queries from readers, mention classic motorhome club events and son on. It was during this time that I was approached by a publisher of classic vehicle books about perhaps writing a book on the subject of classic campers and motorhomes. Via letter (pre-internet days) and telephone calls, we kicked some ideas around for such a book, but sadly the factory where the publisher was based had to be closed for quite a period by the health & safety people as dangerous materials had been discovered within the roof during a routine inspection; the idea for a camper book was put on hold.
Around this time I was contacted by a lady who was putting together a book about motorhomes, with the title 'Home away from Home- The World of Camper Vans & Motorhomes', by Kate Trant (cover picture above). It was not being written in an historical context, telling the story of motorhome developement, but rather from the angle of who owned and used such vehicles, both in the UK and the USA. The author was aware that I had a vast archive of motorhome material, which consisted of original sales brochures, period magazine features, road test reports, numerous books, and of course hundreds of photographs. I was able to assist the author and she agreed to give me credit within the book, but someone around this time did question why I was loaning material, when I could in fact be writing books myself! I did contact the original publisher who had first made contact with me, but sadly their factory problems were ongoing, so I purchased a copy of the 'Writers and Artists Yearbook' , and set about finding a specialist publisher of transport history. I must have done my homework correctly because the MD of my chosen company was very taken with the idea of a title about motorhome history, and as an added bonus he was also aware of my magazine articles. As I've already said, I do have a huge archive of campervan/motorhome material, so it was now a matter of drafting up chapters, content and picking out suitable photographs. It was easier said than done, as there was an awful lot I had to leave out, despite the format of the book being a large hardback A4 example. I think I was given a deadline of submitting the finished copy (with pictures) which was around ten months, which sounds quite generous at the outset, but when you already work fulltime and are restoring a Victorian house in your spare time, the weeks and months soon flash by! It is also easy to forget (as I did), that the large number of photographs also have to have quite lengthy captions, so quite time consuming once the main copy of the book has been written.
Classic Camper Vans-the inside story; a guide to British Campers 1956-1979 was published in 2007, and I was delighted with the finished result; the publishers (The Crowood Press) had done an amazing job, and so had the printers. It is quite a moment, opening that package and looking through a book which you have put so much hard work into, and thankfully it began to sell in decent numbers, given that it is a unique subject matter. It is now out of print, but good used copies are available on Amazon.com, and also pop up on ebay.co.uk from time to time. I will be the first to admit that I had no idea just how much time, dedication and hard work it takes to complie a non-fiction book, as dates have to be checked and then double checked, and where motorhome history is concerned, there are always those ready to pull you up on any mistakes! What really did amaze mean when researching that book, is how many past writers, of both magazine articles and motorhome/caravan related books did in fact get key dates very wrong; I found several glaring errors in old books about camping/motorhome/caravan history. Some time after the first book was released, I was asked by the publisher if I had any more titles in mind, and as the 'Dormobile' company in the UK used to be the largest producers of campervans/motorhomes, I thought that their history was worth telling. Martin Walter Ltd (Dormobile) were based in Folkestone, Kent, and began their coachbuilding business working on horse-drawn carts, later moving into the automobile industry. By the 1930s they had established themselves as one of the biggest producers of 'special bodied' vehicles in Europe, turning out everything from military vehicles, vans, mobile shops and the minibus. They are widely accepted as the company who brought motorhomes to the masses within the UK in the 1950s, and their Dormobile Caravan became a familiar sight, based on the Bedford CA, with its side-hinged candy-stripe roof.
Classic Dormobile Camper Vans; a guide to the camper vans of Martin Walter and Dormobile (The Crowood Press), was published in 2009. This was another A4 format, hardback book and it featured every camper model produced at the factory until its closure in the 1990s; it also contains some excellent pictures of early car bodies built at the factory. New copies of this title are still available from Crowood Press, Amazon.com and ebay, as well as motoring booksellers and some UK bookshops. Work commenced almost immediately on my next title, campers based on the GM/Vauxhall light commercial chassis, the Bedford.
Bedford Camper Vans and Motorhomes; the inside story was published in 2010 by The Crowood Press, and features a varied selection of campers based on all the Bedford types, from the CA, CF, HA , Rascal and Midi. My ex-Bedford CF motorhome features on the bottom of the front cover, with a Dormobile HA Roma on the top. This title is also still available from the usual sources, and remains my final motorhome book to date, though the jury is still out on wether it will be my last!
Having written three motorhome-related books in almost as many years, I thought a slight change in direction was required for my next title, and as I have always maintained an interest in local history, I decided to combine that with my enthusiasm for vintage transport, motor racing history and motoring pioneers from my home county; Worcestershire. Worcestershire's Motoring Heritage (Amberley Publishing) was published in 2014, a large paperback, it tells the history of motoring within the county, from Britain's first automobile the 'Santler' to the Morgan Motor Company, who are still producing their hand-made cars in Malvern to this day.
I have have been a fan of motor racing since the 1960s and a keen spectator at the British Grand Prix, so racing memories associated with the county are recalled in the book, together with sections about drivers from Worcestershire such as Nigel Mansell and 50s Ferrari driver Peter Collins. The book is still available from Amberley Publishing, Amazon.com, many bookshops and of course Google Play (as a download).
I don't have any more books in the pipeline, although as a huge rock/pop concert goer back in the day, I could be tempted to head down the musical route if I was to author another title... watch this space!
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