What has the mother of King Alfred, a famous sail maker, a seismology pioneer, and the vice admiral who introduced the guinea and snuff to England all got in common?
They are all among 246 short biographies of ‘notables’ who find themselves in the latest book from Isle of Wight publisher, Beachy Books.
‘Personae Vectenses: Isle of Wight Notables’ is written by Island-born, Phillip Armitage, and is a labour of love that took him twelve years of research, as Phillip explains:
“I just kept stumbling across these names in various Isle of Wight books that I collect. And they all had connections to the Island, some famous, others I’d never heard of. I decided that there were so many names with an Isle of Wight link that it was worth putting together as a publication.”
All started with Dudley Pound
The notable that inspired him first was Dudley Pound.
“I’d never even heard of him so I did some digging around and found out about him. He was Admiral of the Fleet and he defended England against the U-Boat threat. He was born in Wroxall.”
An Islander through and through
Born on the Island, Phillip was educated here before moving away to go to university and work.
“I’m now retired and living in Worcester, but I’m an Islander through and through. My father landed on the Isle of Wight in 1937, moving from Oldham, Lancashire, when he got a job at Saunders-Roe.”
Where and when
‘Personae Vectenses: Isle of Wight Notables’ retails at £12.99 and will be officially published on Thursday 17th October 2019.
The book will be available at Island retailers including Babushka Books in Shanklin, Medina Books in Cowes, and Isle of Wight Traders and Waterstones in Newport.
The book is also available from Amazon.
Article edit
13.10.2019 9:20 – Quote from PA corrected and details of where to buy added
News shared by Philip Bell on behalf of Beachy Books. Ed
© 2019 Beachy Books
