   |
|
|
|
|
| ||||||
|
John Douglas, author
 John Douglas was born in
1931 in the inner-city Summer Lane area of Birmingham and lived there until the outbreak of World War II, when he was evacuated to Gloucestershire. When he returned to Birmingham some four years later, it was to find that his old house had been bombed, and that the family had had to move away.John who was born in Newtown Row, just off Summer Lane, said his biggest ambition was to write a book. The characters in his first book and From Summer Lane, written in 1979, were based on the people in his street and himself, who he cast as Georgie. John Douglas's first book A Walk Down Summer Lane sold out after it was published in 1977. His prolific writings during the 1970s and 80s also included comical poetry, the Bull Ring Song and the Spaghetti Junction song. John's family said he was always writing, even while holding down a full-time job at Birmingham airport and raising seven children. Daughter Carol Douglas, aged 45, remembers her fun-loving dad always had a story to tell.
He had visited 24 countries after joining the navy at 16 and was
the Home Fleet lightweight boxing champion.
Back on Civvy Street, John adopted a menagerie of animals
including goats and even a donkey he collected in the back of
his Jag and drove home down the M6.
Carol said: "He was great at typing. He used to type, talk and
drink coffee at the same time. You could always hear him tippy
tapping on one of those old black typewriters."
Carol said: "Georgie was a cheeky little chappy, always up to
mischief but who didn't get into trouble."
In From Summer Lane, John wrote: "One day, Georgie thought,
walking away into the shadows, I'm going to write a book about
this place. About these wonderful, colourful characters; the
happenings and happiness of Summer Lane."
John retired to Cornwall in 1989 with Joan, his wife of 39
years.
John Douglas died in 2007 aged 76.
|
|
The content of this website is a collection of materials gathered from a variety of sources, some of it unedited. The webmaster does not intend to claim authorship, but gives credit to the originators for their work. As work progresses, some of the content may be re-written and presented in a unique format, to which we would then be able to claim ownership. Discussion and contributions from those more knowledgeable is welcome. Last modified: Sunday, 08 March 2026 |
