Derbyshire Born
 farm boy to financier - Rural middle England as it was in the 1950's & 1960's - John Smith

The year is 1942, the British are stoical but fearful, the war could go either way. A boy is born in middle England on a small tenanted farm that might be lost to the Germans. He knows nothing of this nightmare since the early years are idyllic. Hating school and failing the crucial exam, the omens are not good. But he is bright and works hard and against the odds gets an office job aged 15 and is plunged headlong into an adult world. A world of steam trains and post-war characters. It will take a big push to penetrate the realms of accounting and finance, yet it can be done. A time long gone. An endeavour as relevant as ever. Wallow in 1940's and 1950's England, it will be worth it.

From humble beginnings
“The demarcation between bottom-enders and top enders was very marked and well understood in the late 1940's. The war had made little difference. This was not a proper village. Rather it was a community thrown together, first by the coal mines, later the railways.”

Via steam trains
“If the little engines were lovable, the giant eight and nine freights were positively awesome. Their magnificence was not dented by the quietness and stillness of being at rest in the great engine sheds. Nor was their dignity impugned by the ant-like men in boiler suits with strange sounding names who crawled over and inside them.”

Via business
How does an ordinary John Smith born to a small tenant farmer of poor coal-riddled soil in unfashionable Derbyshire become a qualified accountant and work as a management consultant for the mighty Price Waterhouse and subsequently at the highest level in other trendsetting companies of the times?

To writing
The world may have moved on, but nothing that’s really important has changed. I write now because I enjoy it, and have the time. Derbyshire Born is not only the story of my life, it’s also an opportunity to reflect on the sometimes uncomfortable social transition between the old world and the unlimited opportunities of the new.

Who should read Derbyshire Born?
Anyone with an interest in 20th century social history – Anyone with an interest in how Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire life changed forever in the post WW2 era – Anyone with an interest in the sea change that took place at the cutting edge of business practice in the sixties and seventies – Anyone looking for a good book to read – and of course my family so they know how it really was.

Excerpt:-
The year is 1942, the British are stoical but fearful, the war could go either way. A boy is born in middle England on a small tenanted farm that might be lost to the Germans. He knows nothing of this nightmare since the early years are idyllic. Hating school and failing the crucial exam, the omens are not good. But he is bright and works hard and against the odds gets an office job aged 15 and is plunged headlong into an adult world. A world of steam trains and post-war characters.

“If the little engines were lovable, the giant eight and nine freights were positively awesome. Their magnificence was not dented by the quietness and stillness of being at rest in the great engine sheds. Nor was their dignity impugned by the ant-like men in boiler suits with strange sounding names who crawled over and inside them.”

"Quite special, thank you, kind regards and keep writing." Thelma.R

"I enjoyed your book Derbyshire Born. Please could you send me a copy of Barn door to balance sheet.Cheque enclosed." Stan N

"Your book arrived today and I have had to make myself put it down." Maureen R

"I found your book fascinating - it brought so many memories. I also found fascinating your time working on the railways. I too worked on the railway in Derby and was one of those who used to punch holes in the cards in the Hollerith bureau!! Can thoroughly recommend your book. I took it to bed with me every night!!" Gill D.

Derbyshire Born Locations

The map above should give the reader a good idea of the geography associated with the sites and locations mentioned in the book. Although Blackwell and Newton have grown in size the majority of the sites listed remain in place today.

It's both interesting and pleasing to note that the land adjacent to the site of Red Barn Farm, and indeed to the East of the M1 remain quite undeveloped.

Locations:
Blackwell
Cragg Lane
Doe Hill Lane Tibshelf
Great Central Railway
Hardstoft
Hardwick Hall
Huthwaite
Newton Infants School
Newton Wood Lane
Old Blackwell
Red Barn Farm
Redbarn Lane
Sawpit Lane
St Werburghs Church Blackwell
Strawberry Bank
Tibshelf Secondary Modern School
Wild Hill Tibshelf

Includes References To:
Master Cutler, London Marylebone Railway Station, Sherwood Forest, Derbyshire Peak District, Peveril Way, Bolsover Castle, Peveril Castle, Castleton, Ferguson 35 tractor, Southwell Minster, Joe Davis, Chesterfield, BBC costume dramas, Mansfield, Tiller Girls, Black and White Minstrel Show, Raymond Glendenning, J Barrington Dalby, Newton Old Hall, Sir John Salmon, Andrew Meikle, Swing Riots, Threshing Machine, seventh Duke of Devonshire, William Rhodes School at Chesterfield, Teversal Church, Percy Edwards, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Travels with a Donkey, Chatsworth House, Haddon Hall, Hardwick Hall, Wingfield Ruins, Nottingham University, British Railways Motive Power Department, Polish Tufted Bantams, Nottingham Slab Square, Chinese painted quail, love birds, cockateils, London Midland Region, Tibshelf Secondary Modern School, Clay Cross, Derbyshire Times, Westhouses, Morton, Chesterfield Royal Hospital, Leicester Cathedral, HF centres, St Bruno Flake, Romney Hythe and Dymchurch steam railway, Beeching Plan, Great Central Railway, Victoria Shopping Centre, trolley buses, Nottingham Victoria Station, Betty Turpin, Coronation Street, London St Pancras Railway Station, Calverton, Farnsfield, Bilsthorpe, Hucknall, Linby, Papplewick, Cochin, Matlock,St Werburgh’s Church, Henry Oldfield, John Taylor’s Loughborough bell foundry, Baby Austin, London Surprise, Bob Minor, The Ringing World, Clarendon College, Railway Traffic Department in Derby, Paul Anka, Acker Bilk, East Midlands Electricity Board, Lime Tree Place, Mansfield Brewery, Vespa 125, steam trains, Eight Freight.

To Find More Books By John Smith Visit www.quantitative-wheezing.co.uk