robin campbell

Robin Campbell was brought up in Pembroke Dock but doesn't regret it. He went to Llanion Primary School, where he learnt the basics of cussing and blasphemy, and Bush Grammar, where the headmaster warned about the dangers of climbing drainpipes higher than 1000 feet above sea level and having sex with other species. Not necessarily in that order, mind you. One of his happiest childhood memories is the visit to the dentist, who stubbornly refused to give an anaesthetic before he drilled into your teeth, be it gas, electricity or the paraffin drip. 'Good preparation for playing rugby,' he called it. No coincidence that his 'surgery' was next door to the torture chamber of the castle.

Robin has written a history of horseracing in Swansea, 'All Bets Are Off', and a series of songs and stories based on real events in Victorian Swansea, 'A Swansea Riot / Terfysg Abertawe.' He has also written three novels - 'A Better Hole,' based very loosely on his upbringing in the Dock, 'The Moonlit Mr Spring' and 'The Message,' the latter two published by Cambria Publishing. In November 2025 he published another local history book, 'The Swansea Mohawks / The Dolly Club. Based on 20 years of research, the book tells the story of a group of 'middling' gentlemen who were intent on enjoying the pleasures of life in Georgian and Victorian Swansea, while dividing opinion in the town with their midnight pranks. Taking the London scene as their cue, these 'Mohawks' or 'Dolls' were never prosecuted for their misdemeanours.