Got, Not Got: Sunderland: The Little Book of Mackem Memories

Bill was born in Sunderland, England. He is a researcher and historian with a passion for Black History and sport, particularly the Empire Windrush, football and cricket.

Bill's book, 'Football's Black Pioneers' was co-written with David Gleave with a foreword from Viv Anderson. It was described by Paul Hawksbee (TalkSPORT) as "an incredibly timely release...now more than ever this is an important book."

Other reactions include:

* "The human stories are pretty unbelievable. Really, really fascinating to read." (Nick Hatton, BBC Radio Leeds)

* "Learn about the unsung black trailblazers of the game. 'Football's Black Pioneers' profiles the first black player at each of the 92 league clubs." (Kick it Out)

* "Looks as though 'Football's Black Pioneers' is going to have a huge impact in bringing to the surface the story of black footballers in the UK." (Stanchion Books)

* "Highly recommend this... features a chapter on Jack and other great stories, and the authors have been incredibly helpful to the campaign." (the Jack Leslie Campaign)

* "'Football's Black Pioneers' book is amazing. Four years of research went into finding the history of every first black player to play for each football league club. This book should be in every school and family home." (FootballShorts.org)

Bill also co-authored 'What About the Princess?' - the biography of Windrush passenger and singing superstar Mona Baptiste from Trinidad.

December 2024 saw publication of the Windrush Foundation's book 'Windrush 75 - Pioneers and Champions' which Bill co-wrote with Arthur Torrington.

Bill follows Sunderland Football Club and Durham County Cricket Club. His research has taken him to Barbados where he visited and wrote about each of the Commonwealth War Graves on the island and Trinidad where he researched the life of Mona Baptiste. He is one-third on the Historycal Roots team which focuses on Black British History. He is now based in Aberford a small village between Leeds and York.