About Andrew
Andrew is an author and historian who writes children’s fiction, military history & local heritage non-fiction books. He is the editor of a children’s magazine and has appeared on television and radio.
Andrew grew up in the Cornish town of Saltash and spent all of his childhood there. With Brunel’s historic Royal Albert Bridge, the centuries old Trematon Castle and close links to the city of Plymouth, which was bombed extensively during the Second World War (a subject he is passionate about), it is hardly surprising that he had an interest in history from an early age. Andrew enjoyed school, in particular the subjects of History, Geography, PE and topic work, and later attended the University of Plymouth, leaving with a BA(Hons) degree. During this time he also became a qualified football coach, working for Plymouth Argyle Football in the Community, as well as meeting his future wife.
Brunel’s Royal Albert Bridge,
opened in 1859.
Trematon Castle – built in the aftermath of the Norman conquest of 1066 
The ruins of Charles Church in Plymouth now stands as a memorial.
Andrew trained as a primary school teacher and taught for a number of years in West Sussex, before embracing his love of travelling, adventure and exploring by moving abroad with his wife to teach in the middle east country of Qatar. Living in a different country was a fantastic experience and allowed them to visit a number of incredible places!
Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania 
Petra, Jordan 
Machu Picchu, Peru
They moved to Somerset in 2012 and after the birth of their first son in 2015, Andrew suddenly had the urge to try something he had never done before – writing. Inspired by the vast number of children’s books he had read as a teacher, his first children’s picture book, James and the Dragon, gained interest from a publisher that summer. This was the spark his writing needed, and he set about writing his first military non-fiction book, The West Country’s Last Line of Defence: Taunton Stop Line. Taking 18 months of research, the book looked at a series of Second World War defences across the South-West of England and both of these titles were published early 2017.
Since then Andrew hasn’t stopped writing, with Somerset’s Military Heritage and James and the Ogre being released in 2018, followed by 50 Gems of Somerset and Historic England: Somerset in 2019, with more projects lined up!
Andrew is an avid football fan who loves travelling and exploring places, both new and old. He lives in Somerset with his wife and two young sons.
