I was brought up in a farm on the South Downs and, after attending Agricultural College, I worked on farms before joining the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. My growing interest in both family and military history led to a career change in 1987 when I was appointed manager of Newhaven Fort in Sussex, a scheduled monument which I prepared for public opening the following year and continued to manage for fifteen years. Since retiring, I have developed a range of talks which I give to a wide variety of groups and organisations in the region.