Grandma's Letters

This is a heartwarming biography of a feisty, religious young woman born in 1915 and surviving the First World War and again in the Second World War in deprived circumstances. Elements of tragedy and suffering were survived in a family blessed with love and belief. She brought up her daughter whilst her husband fought the Japanese overseas. Her ambition to be a journalist was shelved and she later earned immense satisfaction by becoming renowned for highly descriptive letter writing to her various members of family. Warm, caustic, amusing and frank her letters were awaited with great anticipation. Sadly today, letter writing is a lost art but was and still is a most intimate and warm experience. Remarkably, Ethel Baddeley only started writing letters when she reached the age of 80! She also became an accomplished painter until failing eyesight curtailed her talents.

Ethel passed away surrounded by her family in 2014, convinced that she would be reunited with her husband, Ken, who died in 2003!

Bob Burrows, born in Wrexham, North Wales, in 1941, had pretensions of being a professional footballer but, after a spell with a club, diverted into a banking career in which he achieved the role of Area Director for the North West of England. Even while controlling 105 branches of the bank, he often dreamt of pursuing a career in writing. At the age of 52, he took early retirement and started traveling the world with his wife Pat and commenced his writing career. Newspapers, magazines, and articles started as a hobby until one editor inspired Bob to write a book. Since then, he has published nine books. One of his first books, Fighter Writer, the true story of a First World War poet, was launched at the Imperial War Museum, London, in 2004 and was followed by a week-long tour in Scotland, the birthplace of the biographical character Sergeant Joe Lee, giving talks and signing books. He was later nominated for Scotland's highest award, the Saltire Prize, and for Best Book and Best New-writer.

Grandma's Letters followed in 2006 when Bob, inspired by Ethel's stories, spent almost two years interviewing her as he believed it would make an excellent story for the family.

His last book, Around The World in Several Ways, was published by Austin Macauley publishers in 2020. It tells of his and his wife's trips to all parts of the world, including four specific road trips around America!