About the Author

Henry T. Bradford was born in Gravesend, Kent in 1930 and is the eighth of nine children. In 1955 married his wife, Iris and they went to have two children, a son and a daughter. During the Second world war Bradford was evacuated to Devonshire, where he was injured in a farm accident that left him with a severe and permanent, physical disability. During his life, he's worked in many roles, a lorry driver, an upholsterer's apprentice, a deck hand on the River Thames tug-boat, a gentleman's hairdresser, a welder and finally a dock worker. But, in 1960, he was seriously injured in a ship-board accident and was granted leave of absence to study at the London School of Economics and Political Science before finally retiring from the port transport industry in 1986 due to his wartime and dock working injuries. Bradford has drawn from his life experiences to write a series of books: "Stories of London's Docklands".