Metal Detecting Finds: Hooked-Clasps & Eyes

About Brian Read

Brian Read was born in 1939 in Essex and raised in East and South-East London. With no formal educational qualifications he left Secondary Modern School in 1954 and became a trainee millwright and then a trainee groundsman before joining the Merchant Navy in 1955 through which he travelled widely. In 1961 he embarked on fire service career first with the Devon County Fire Service then the City of Plymouth Fire Brigade and finally the newly formed Devon Fire Brigade. While on duty in 1983 in the rank of assistant divisional officer he sustained an injury that in 1986 resulted in his medical discharge. Since leaving the fire service he has worked as a freelance writer. His first book History Beneath Our Feet published in 1988 was a bestseller and after extensive revision underwent re-publication in 1995 and again proved successful. Between 1999 - 2015 he self-published under the imprint Portcullis Publishing. From 1978 metal detecting and its associated study of small metal artefacture has been his primary leisure interest.