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I was born on August 26th. 1945 in Radcliffe, Lancashire, the eldest of the four sons born to my working class parents. I also had a Stepsister who lived with her father. She was the second daughter of my mother, the first daughter having died in the winter of 1940. I was christened into the Church of England and attended a Church of England Primary School. I sat the Eleven Plus exam and failed, although I learned in later years, that although I had achieved the pass mark, I was denied a place because of the demand on the places available due to the 'Post War Boom' (children born at the end of World War Two). Other criteria was then added to the selection process which my parents couldn't meet, added to which was the fact that they couldn't afford to buy my uniform and so I attended the local Secondary Modern School and was in the Upper Stream throughout. As young teenager, I was a Choirboy, Acolyte and Server in the Church of England. The Vicar at the time regularly visited my father who was by this time chronically sick and as I reached my 14th. year, my final year at School, it was suggested that I train for the Anglican Priesthood and so following the Walks of Witness on Whit Friday 1960, I travelled for the first time alone, to the 'Society of the Sacred Mission', an Anglo Catholic Theological College at Kelham, near Newark in Nottinghamshire for the weekend. The purpose was to see if I might see my future as a Priest in the Church of England. On my return, I said that I would like to become a Priest and so it was decided that instead of leaving School at the end of Summer Term, I would stay on and do some O Levels, which had never been done in that School before. However after returning to School and becoming Head Boy, I saw my friends, now working, earning money and enjoying life and so I decided that being a Priest wasn't for me and left in December 1960 when the term came to an end. Looking back, it was a decision I have regretted many times. New Year's Day 1961, saw the start of my Nursing career. I remained a Nurse for 33 years before ill- health forced my premature retirement. During those 33 years I graduated as a Registered Mental Nurse, a State Registered Nurse (now Registered General Nurse) a Health Visitor and Field Work Teacher for which I had to obtain an Approved Obstetric Certificate. I became an Examiner for the General Nursing Council of England and Wales and undertook a number of Management Courses. I rose through the Nursing Ranks eventually reaching the rank of Senior Nurse Grade I, which was equivalent roughly to that of a Senior/Nursing Officer or Assistant Matron. In the latter half of the 1970s. I started attending my local Church, joining the choir and undertaking various offices. In the latter half of the 1980s, I started a 3 year part-time Certificate in Religious Studies at the Victoria University of Manchester, immediately followed by the 3 year C/E Readers Course, the end of which coincided with my retiring from my Nursing Career and my starting a full time course of study at the University of Manchester, resulting in my being awarded a B.A. (Hons) in Theology and Religious Studies in 1997. In 2015, on reaching the age of 70 years, I became Reader Emeritus in the Diocese of Manchester after 22 years as a Reader. After completing my degree, I undertook some part-time Nursing work for an Agency and then as a part -time Special Needs Assistant for the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton Education Department. Ill health again prevented me from continuing in any sort of paid employment but did not prevent me from voluntary service in the Church and with caring for and with various family members. I married in 1965 and am now the father of two fine sons and the grandfather of four grandchildren all of whom I love dearly and take a great pride in. Today, my wife and I live quietly in Whitefield, Manchester not too far from my place of birth in Radcliffe.

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