Biography

In the hot summer of 1942 a seven year old girl and her mother arrived on the Isle of Man from Manchester.

A week's holiday in the tiny village of Sulby was to be an opportunity to spend time with her father, an airman stationed at nearby Jurby. But as war raged throughout Europe, their stay in Sulby turned from weeks to months, and eventually to years.

This is the story of how one child adapted to the enormous changes that war brought, and how rural life a world away from anything familiar eventually became the very epitome of "home".
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Isle of Man resident, Sir Norman Wisdom O.B.E., may have been small in stature, yet he was a giant of comedy. But what was he like behind closed doors?

The author, Ann Axe, became his Personal Assistant in 1994. She remained his loyal companion until dementia took hold of Norman's once razor-sharp mind and he had to be admitted to a nursing home for specialist care.

This book is a fun filled, behind the scenes account of what it was like to live and work alongside one of Britain's funniest comedians.
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In the late 1970s, before Mark Cavendish was born, a diminuitive Manxman with a big heart exploded onto the British cycling scene.

What Steve Joughin lacked in stature, he more than made up for with natural talent. An explosive sprinter, he was instrumental in smashing the eastern Bloc supremacy of the Milk Race and leading British cycling into a golden age.

When his career ended prematurely, and the thrill of the victory was gone, Steve struggled to adapt to life away from the winner's podium and he turned to drink to help fill the void. A decade later he was lying in an Italian hospital, fighting for his life.

This is Steve's story in his own words, charting a remarkable rise from teenage tearaway in the Isle of Man to cycling glory and then the downward spiral, until he hit rock bottom and learned to love life again with the help of his family, friends and Alcoholics Anonymous, for whom he now acts as a counsellor.
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This biography of Isaac Barrow shows that he was the Isle of Man's first great social reformer and even today, over 400 years later, young people in the Island still benefit from his benefactions and the educational charities he endowed.

Isaac Barrow was on the Isle of Man during some of its most turbulent times at the end of the 17th century. The recent execution of llliam Dhone had created a focus of festering resentment and the Island's economy had suffered through uncertainties of the English Civil War.Its people, though hard-working, were for the most part ill-educated, neglected and impoverished and radical measures were needed to rebuild the Island.

Barrow's vision, energy and practical resourcefulness meant that the Manx people benefitted immeasurably from his endeavours.He re-ordered the Island's laws, strengthened the quality and welfare of the clergy, impoved communications and the regulation of commerce, porvided elementary education for every child, and endowed grammar and academic schools throughout the Island.
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Henry Bloom Noble is still easily the Isle of Man's most generous benefactor. He came to the Island from Cumberland in 1835 at the age of nineteen with few possessions, yet in the 1860s he was considered the richest man in Douglas. In 1903 he died a widowerer without children and left nearly all his money and estate for charitable purposes.

As a resuult, his trustees were able to finance a new hospital in Douglas, St Ninian's Church, Noble's Park and Noble's Baths, and a cottage hospital in Ramsey. This account traces the often contoversial story of how Noble became rich and how his trustees spent his money after his death.
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Although he died at the early age of 56, Moore was a lifelong whirlwind of energy. Born in 1853, the heir to Moore’s sailcloth works at Tromode and to the grand house of Cronkbourne, he had extensive connections in London’s high society and was educated at Rugby and Cambridge. It’s this side of his life which has led Robert Fyson to choose the title The Anglo-Manxman, but despite his cosmopolitan background and indefatigable travelling, Moore chose to base his life in the Isle of Man.

He became not only Speaker of the House of Keys but also an extraordinarily prolific author on Manx subjects, and was involved in numerous aspects of local life. As well as history he wrote on Manx folklore, climate, archaeology, place names, ballads and music as well as producing an Anglo-Manx dictionary, and a history of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. Meanwhile his travels took him frequently to Europe, and as far afield as Egypt and the Holy Land in the east and the USA, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean in the west.


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This book tells the remarkable story of Arthur Caley who was born in Sulby in 1824, and who grew to become one of the tallest men in the world. At 7'11" and weighing over 25 stone Caley was a phenomenon, a force of nature around whom myth and legend quickly sprang up. At an early age he left the Island to find fame and fortune and appeared in freak shows around the United Kingdom and Europe. The book brings together all the known facts to create a fascinating and fitting tribute to one of the most colourful characters in Manx history.
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Step behind the scenes and experience of the pure adrenaline of the Tour de france through the eyes of Isle of Man superstar, Mark Cavendish. This book unmasks the exotic, contradictory, hysterical and brutal world of profesional cycling from the compellingly candid viewpoint of Mark Cavendish. Written off as "fat" and "useless" in his youth, now, aged 23, Mark has become British cycling's brightest star.

This paperback edition includes his 2009 Tour De France six-stage triumph.
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This is the life and times of Derry Kissack and touches on the lives of good Manx folk, of hardship and good times, machinery of all kinds and of course the Purple Helmets.

Derry's own very special humour comes across well in this readable and amusing book.
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Written by accomplished local restauranteur and businessman, Robert Phillips, this is a memoir of an ordinary man who has, by all accounts, lived an extraordinary life. From a streetwise council estate upbringing to eventually cooking for Royalty, this chef is no celebrity, yet his story is perhaps more engaging than any manufactured culinary personality. Given three months to live, he faced his alcoholism head on. The characters he reveals are instantly memorable and the effect they had on Robert changed his direction forever.

The book is no exercise in vanity, it is a fascinating, powerful, moving and as relevent to anyone who is looking in the bottom of a bottle.
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Readily acknowledged as the most dominant Manx politician of the second half of the twentieth century the story of Sir Charles Kerruish and that of the Island during this period are closely intertwined. Throughout his political career he worked tirelessly and aggressively towards achieving far greater self-governemnt for the Island and this was done against his background of family man and hard working farmer.

The story of a Manx family in the early 1900's when Douglas had a bustling quayside.
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The autobiography of Samuel Norris, one of the Island 's greatest political reformers. He chronicles the amazing events on the Island during the First World War when there was unrest and demonstrations and he ended up in prison. After a campaign in the UK media and letters to the then Home Secretary, Winston Churchill, he was released and went on to be a reforming MHK.

A collection of memories and anecdotes about Mona Douglas a Manx writer and Centenarian.
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This anthology of the Isle of Man's National Poet not only introduces him and his works to first-time readers but also contains interesting explanations and notes to help understand the words and situations which are no longer part of our modern life.
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In this book which includes previously unpublished photographs from his own treasured collection Sir Norman Wisdom proudly welcomes the reader into the Isle of Man home he designed himself and takes you on a round-island tour to some of his favourite places.Lavishly illustrated with stunning photographs of the Island and Sir Norman's career the book also tells the amazing rise of one of Britain's greatest comedy legends
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This book brings together the biographies of over 230 important and influential characters who have made their mark on the Isle of Man over the past 120 years. This is required reading for anyone who wants to know more about the people who made the Isle of Man what it is today.
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This is the life of a family in the Isle of Man. A century of social and political change is skillfully woven into the personal stories of the parents and their two daughters. This detailed and evocative account integrates a universal experience of childhood with a specifically Manx identity.
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True stories of French and Belgian trawlermen working in Manx waters.

Published to celebrate local firm of advocate's Dickinson Cruickshank's Centenary year in 1999.

The author's memories of being brought up in Hildesley Road Douglas.
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