Born in Swindon, trained as a Boilermaker, which was his second choice of career. (He wanted to become a carpenter & joiner but no vacancies were available).  He was a boiler inspector in the North of England (possibly Newcastle).  Moved to Bristol and worked on  his own in a garden shed; he then moved to Eastborne Rd, Easton, Bristol; then to 29 All Hallows Road Bristol.  His first workshop was at the top of All Hallows Rd, but he moved to Felix Rd, Easton – an ex-colliery site (which was subsequently taken over by his son Albert, and later by his grandson, Maurice