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Born into a distinguished musical family in Middlesex, Bill trained as a classic pianist, before studying History at University College, London. Later, he completed a Doctorate in Saxon Literature at Kings College, University of London. He was at least a scholar, archivist, translator, pianist, historian as well as a distinguished poet, described recently by one national newspaper as 'Great Britain's least known major poet', and his poetry was included in the influential Oxford University Press Anthology of 20th Century British and Irish Verse. He was also a prolific author and had 67 separate entries in the Cambridge University Library. In the 1990's, Bill moved from London to the North East, where he took up residence in Seaham. He chose the North East to aid his studies into Old English, and was fascinated by the continuation of Old English in North East dialects. He quickly re-invigorated serious scholarship on regional dialect, and within a short period had published three important books on the subject to include 'A Dictionary of North East Dialect', 'Stotty 'n' Spice Cake: The Story of North East Cooking' and 'Pitmatic: The Talk of the North East Coalfields'. Bill was also a key player in the local history scene, and wrote numerous small books and articles about the Durham Coalfield area, particularly Seaham. Colleague and friend Dr Bill Lancaster, Head of the Centre for Northern Studies, Northumbria University, said: ""Bill had a genius for carrying out serious scholarship of international quality which also had an appeal to a popular audience. He has been the first scholar in a long time to treat North East dialect with a seriousness of purpose, and this has contributed greatly to the renaissance of North East regional culture over the last decade or so.""
'It is hoped the book will preserve the dialect for future generations', BBC Breakfast News. 'An exceptionally rich combination of borrowings from Old Norse, Dutch and a score of other languages with inventive usages dreamed up by the miners themselves', The Guardian. 'Fills a huge gap in present day knowledge of the subject and at the same time it is an exceptional read', Beamish Museum. 'A seminal dictionary of North East dialect', The Independent.
