After about eight years of tracing my ancestry I thought I would like to have a go at teaching the subject. So I wrote to my local adult education office telling them what I thought I could do. I didn't hear a thing!

Two years later I had a 'phone call from the head of a centre 3 miles away and so, in September 1990, I got started. We ran a 10 week course.

Over the next ten years the course grew in length to the full academic year (30 weeks ca.), and the number of locations at which I ran it grew too. Over the years I went to seven centres in Birmingham and one in Solihull.

It was always good fun, made so by the enthusiam of the participants. We used to go on three library visits, usually a county record office and a couple of regimental museums as well.