Born 1939 in Bramley, Leeds, Yorkshire. During my varied working life, I have tuned and renovated church organs, re-upholstered period furniture and served three years in Germany with the Royal Air Force in wireless telegraphy and direction finding. Following service I spent 30 years in telecommunication, enjoying a progressive career that grew from technician to Head of Division. My final task lasted 10 years and involved heading and implementing a project that saw British Telecom's very first computerised stock control and accounting system installed across the UK's 30 district accounting offices.

After taking early retirement in 1990, I enjoyed an 8 year 'adult apprenticeship' from my late Uncle - Tommy Limmer, who had over 60 years experience in woodworking. This included wood turning, wood carving, cabinet making and marquetry. Needless to say the latter became my passion. I have taught the craft at Leeds and York Colleges, and been Chairman of the Leeds Marquetry Group for 10 years. My association with Thomas Chippendale's marquetry furniture, was borne from a visit to Harewood House in the mid 1990s, which led me to reproduce two of his pieces. The Pier table, found in this book, has spent the last five years at Harewood House, while one replica door panel of the famous Library Writing Table shows visitors to Temple Newsam House, Leeds what the marquetry looked like some 230 years ago when the original table was made. The latter reproduction is detailed in my second book "Chippendale's Marquetry Revealed". The book, when published, will hopefully fulfil a twenty year passion with the great man's work and techniques. His entire, known collection will show how the marquetry was designed, cut, laid, sanded and polished during those highly expressive 18th century period of artistic and technical invention.

In addition to marquetry, my interests are furniture history, classical music, photography, writing, cricket and rugby league.

Last update September 2009.