I was born in Simla British India and raised mainly on Merseyside where I still live. I became interested in mineral collecting in 1947 whilst on holiday in the South West of England. Gaining an honours degree in Geology at Liverpool University I went into teaching. I am now retired due to ill-health and edit a bi-monthly amateur geology magazine. At present I am researching British metal mining and mining sites.
I am an avid devotee of JRR Tolkien’s Middle Earth, bence the nickname of Bilbo which are also the first elements of my given and surnames.
Special Interest Areas
Industrial Archaeology, mineralogy and geology. In archaeology ss Late Roman through to immediate post Norman Conquest.