Bill Dawson
AUTHOR

Bill Dawson

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
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Bill was born in 1910, so he experienced both World Wars. He died in 2004, aged 94 - still with all his marbles. In 1915, he was on the top deck of a tram in Chatham, when everyone moved over to the windows overlooking the pavement – to see a woman wearing trousers! Bill became the first Dawson male not to make a career in the Army. He started working as a Journalist on the Chatham Observer in 1926, aged 16. Among his many other reporting duties, he covered the cases in court, so he was exposed to the goings on of the underworld then. He learned that he could sell stories to the Fleet Street national newspapers as well as supply stories to the Chatham Observer. He also raced motor bikes, on grass track, then speedway. He was the “World Indoor Speedway Champion” in 1928. He was involved in the setting up of Speedway in the UK, but stopped racing as the result of injury. After getting the sack from the Chatham Observer because he had stopped being a junior and would have warranted a proper salary; He moved to Camberley where he built up a lucrative freelance Journalism career, supplying articles to Fleet Street and to Motor Cycling magazines. He became well known as Wep Dawson, writing for Motor Cycling and Motor Cycle. He joined the Royal Engineers at the start of the Second World War. Bill became a Tank Major commanding a platoon of tanks in the D Day landings. He finished the 2nd World War in India, working in Lord Mountbatten’s brigade where he was a Deputy Assistant Welfare General. He wrote a book for General Auchinlech, which ran to 3 million copies. After the War, He began working for Kemsleys as a journalist on the Kettering Evening Telegraph. In 1953 he was offered the post of Development Manager at the Chronicle & Journal, Newcastle. The Dawson family had 12 years on Tyneside, Bill in Newspaper management and Nancy writing the woman’s page as ‘Housewife Joyce’ – documenting family life in that age. They always said they were happiest in Newcastle. I was born in Newcastle in 1955 and was christened ‘Roly’ in Housewife Joyce’s column. Bill went on to other sites owned by Roy Thompson, who had since bought Kemsleys. He worked at Teesside, at the Evening Gazette, where he put on a concert featuring a new band – The Beatles, at Stockton Globe. After Teesside, he ran the Wokingham Bracknell and Ascot Times group, Then Inverness, where he was MD of The Highland News Group. He finished in Greater London house, running Head Office. After he retired, Bill wrote 7 books as well as a periodical called ‘Past Masters’ for other retired newspaper management people from Thompson’s organisation. He said he was always, primarily a writer. The first of those books to be published is ‘Train of Events’ which is a crime thriller in the ‘Newcastle Noir’ tradition. Although there is violence in the book, it is not directed at women. There are murders, but none of them are unexplained. It’s a fast moving tale of Mob and Police, told through different perspectives and voices. Also - see Bill's funny stories about his work, war and life at www.billdawsonwriter.com Andy Dawson 2022. Inverness.
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