I was brought up in Bristol, went to school in Chipping Sodbury and now live on the Somerset coast. I write poetry as well as being an established writer of modern history: about war artists, war correspondents and, most recently, the activities of MI5 in pursuing left-wing writers and artists during the period 1936-56. In a varied working life, I've been an actor, a teacher and a government adviser (not that government took any notice!) I am presently working on a book about cricket set in the immediate post-war years: it is also about the end of Empire and the connections between sport and politics. There is also a second poetry collection under way.

The Secret War Against the Arts was published in September 2020 and is available from Pen and Sword at £20.
'A damned good spy story'.