Grandpa Billy

Grandpa Billy' was the affectionate title for this autobiography of the author's father, chosen by his youngest son Jamie who took it upon himself to get the original typewritten manuscript published, initially by Chipmunkapublishnig.com, but now, in this new edition by Farthings Publishing of Scarborough. North Yorkshire. Bill, or Billy, - he was never known as George! - Kershaw was born in 1901 to a couple of music-hall performers, his father being one of a pair of 'musical comedians' billed as the Wedburn Brothers. Their itinerant professional life wasn't conducive to matrimonial stability, especially after his mother produced a half-sister for Billy and his older three siblings, and the parents were divorced, with the young Billy, then only an infant, being allocated to his mother and the older siblings to the father. From then on Billy and his mother lived a somewhat fragmented life as mother Nelly spent a lot of time forlornly chasing round the country after her ex-husband, hoping for a reconciliation - which never came. However, Billy had a good instinct for self education although he never gained any paper qualifications, or the initative to gain any; so his talents were never fully employed in his various jobs. These ranged from Mill Operative, Grocery Warehouseman, Dance Band Banjoist, RAF Groundcrew to Engineering semi-skilled Inspector.