Stephen Baines

Stephen Baines was Yorkshire born and bred, and has ancestors who were mariners of Whitby in the 18th and 19th Centuries.

After studying Theology at Cambridge University, he did a post-graduate year at Oxford before training as a teacher in London. After his marriage he moved to East Anglia where he has lived ever since, within easy reach of the North Sea (aka German Ocean). He taught English in a comprehensive school in Colchester for a dozen years or so, during which he introduced extension activities for more able pupils. He moved to the Sixth Form College when it opened in 1987 where he taught Religious Studies, General Studies and Philosophy (he transcribed Descartes 'Meditations' into rhyming couplets), and he introduced the International Baccalaureate (the College being one of the first State Schools in the UK to do so). After retiring from full-time teaching in 2006, he lectured part-time on Ancient Greek Philosophy at the University of Essex for two years.

Stephen Baines has written articles on a range of topics, including Anglo-Norman sculpture, problem solving, educating very able children, the sheep-breeder Jonas Webb, and mediaeval drinking habits; and some of his poems have appeared in print. His other interests include Geoffrey Chaucer, ornithology, gardening, genealogy, croquet, and playing the ukelele. His first book was 'The Yorkshire Mary Rose, The General Carleton of Whitby' (Blackthorn Press. 2010). His recent book is 'Captain Cook's Merchant Ships, Freelove, Three Brothers, Mary, Friendship, Endeavour, Adventure, Resolution and Discovery' (The History Press. 2015).

He has three daughters and four grandchildren.