John Hedge

John Hedge was brought up in a traditional Buckinghamshire pub. Less traditional were the bitter rows between his loving but troubled publican parents. He and his brother were sent away to the Royal Masonic Schools in the misguided belief that he would be happier away from the booze and the brickbats. His book, 'Ston and the Bright Bar' tells the story of his growing up in these two contrasting worlds.

Fired by these experiences and a depressive illness of his own, John eventually made it to Manchester University to read Social Studies and discovered what became a life- long commitment to siding with the underdog. He trained in Liverpool as a Probation Officer and spent 40 years in a service, which for many years stood up bravely for unpopular causes and a more civilized Criminal Justice system. He worked for some time in Wormwood Scrubs prison and was involved in pioneering work on foreign prisoners before whistle blowing activities exposing mayhem within the jail led to an early exit. As he says, ‘most people get thrown into prison - I got thrown out!’ His book 'The Long Road to the Straight and Narrow' describes the ups and downs, challenges, and occasional victories of a life in the Probation Service.

Outside his professional life John has always been an arts enthusiast and founded a theatre group and arts festival in South Oxfordshire. For nearly 20 years he enjoyed performing as a 2-metre-tall pantomime dame and in later years has sung in a series of choirs always in the middle of the back row as a second bass.

John has subsequently produced two collections of poetry and is working on a third. He is a keen supporter of overseas development and inspired by a friend who worked in Mali founded the Mali Development Group. His latest book 'I Ni Che' tells the story of the group and its work on many projects in Mali. The book has been endorsed by the renowned ecologist Satish Kumar.

John Hedge has been married to his wife Gill for over 50 years. They have two sons and 5 grandsons. They now live in North Devon.