About the Author

"Allingham" 1936 - 2012 Allingham spent a happy childhood in Halifax the third and youngest child of William, a Welsh born policeman, and Winifred, a local Yorkshire lass. Apprenticed at 16 to a local iron foundry Allingham's progression to qualified engineer was interrupted by two years of national service, serving as a subaltern in the 1st Guards Brigade. Qualifying as a professional engineer didn't limit his work experiences and over the succeeding decades Allingham travelled to over 65 countries, pursuing careers in public relations, local government, retailing, brewing and innkeeping, this last role earning him a two-page spread in the Daily Express as "The real Mr Fawlty". Founding the journal Hong Kong Engineer before his thirtieth birthday and writing all its early leaders demonstrated Allingham's interest in writing, confirmed by a lifetime producing professional technical papers as well as writing, for his own interest, a series of short stories, light verses and other narratives. In retirement and drawing on a lifetime of rich experience Allingham was at last able to work full time on his final opus: The Grey Haired Knights. This series of four whimsical fantasy novels tells the stories of four 70 year old codgers inspired by the spirit of King Arthur's Merlin to each undertake their own life-affirming Quest.