Author. Born at Kendal, Cumbria, England, the second son of John, a coal miner, and Hannah Bagley. At 14 he left school and began working as a printer's devil. He progressed to work in a plastic fittings factory, and during the war years, in the aircraft industry. At 22 he emigrated to South Africa taking an overland route which took him through Kampala, Uganda, Kenya, Rhodesia (present day Zimbabwe)and arriving in South Africa in 1950. After a stint in the gold mines, he became a freelance journalist, working for the Broadcasting Company in Durban, the Rand Daily Mail in Johannesburg, and by 1960 he was a writer for Filmlets Ltd. In 1957 his first short story, ‘My Old Man's Trumpet,' was published in Argosy Magazine, and his first novel, ‘The Golden Keel' in 1962. He returned to England in 1965, where his writing career flourished, producing numerous bestsellers including ‘Landslide' in 1967, ‘The Freedom Trap' in 1971 - which was then filmed in 1973 as ‘The Mackintosh Man' starring Paul Newman - ‘The Tightrope Men' in 1973, and ‘Flyaway' in 1978. In April 1983 he was flown to Southampton for treatment following a stroke. He succumbed a week later, at the age of 59. His last two novels ‘Night of Error' and ‘Juggernaut' were published posthumously.
Author. Born at Kendal, Cumbria, England, the second son of John, a coal miner, and Hannah Bagley. At 14 he left school and began working as a printer's devil. He progressed to work in a plastic fittings factory, and during the war years, in the aircraft industry. At 22 he emigrated to South Africa taking an overland route which took him through Kampala, Uganda, Kenya, Rhodesia (present day Zimbabwe)and arriving in South Africa in 1950. After a stint in the gold mines, he became a freelance journalist, working for the Broadcasting Company in Durban, the Rand Daily Mail in Johannesburg, and by 1960 he was a writer for Filmlets Ltd. In 1957 his first short story, ‘My Old Man's Trumpet,' was published in Argosy Magazine, and his first novel, ‘The Golden Keel' in 1962. He returned to England in 1965, where his writing career flourished, producing numerous bestsellers including ‘Landslide' in 1967, ‘The Freedom Trap' in 1971 - which was then filmed in 1973 as ‘The Mackintosh Man' starring Paul Newman - ‘The Tightrope Men' in 1973, and ‘Flyaway' in 1978. In April 1983 he was flown to Southampton for treatment following a stroke. He succumbed a week later, at the age of 59. His last two novels ‘Night of Error' and ‘Juggernaut' were published posthumously.
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