Billy’s book dream comes true .... five months too late BY HOWARD WILLIAMSON

A NORTH Leeds man’s dream of having his work published has come true – just months after his death. Billy Forshaw died suddenly in March at the age of 69 and his semi-autobiographical book More Scouse, Vicar? has now just been released by Janus. His daughter Louise, an art and technology teacher at Parklands High School, Seacroft, said: “To get into print was a dream come true for him. “It’s a simple story but well written and I feel proud of him but sad that he did not live to see it in the bookshops. “He didn’t care about the money but he would love to know that people were reading his book and enjoying it.” The story follows the life of a family in Liverpool, with a young mother caring for two daughters alone while her husband is away in the navy. Mr Forshaw was brought up in Bootle and spent his childhood on Merseyside, but his adult life was spent in Leeds. He was a mathematics teacher at Halton, Garforth and Belle Isle and last lived at Swallow Drive off Shadwell Lane. ● More Scouse, Vicar? is available from Philip Howard Books in Roundhay.

Yorkshire Post August 6th 2008

Man about the scouse HARDSHIP AND HUMOUR:

Billy’s book tells of the life of a Liverpool family in the war

BY HOWARD WILLIAMSON

A NORTH Leeds man’s dream of being published has come true just a few weeks after his death. Billy Forshaw passed away suddenly on March 20 at the age of 69 and his semi-autobiographical book More Scouse, Vicar? has now been released by Janus. His daughter Louise, an art and technology teacher at Parklands High School, said: “To get into print was a dream come true for him. It’s a simple story but well written and I feel proud of him, but sad that he did not live to see it in the bookshops. “He didn’t care about the money but he would love to know that people were reading his book and enjoying it.” It tells of a family in Liverpool, with a young mother caring for two daughters alone while her husband is away in the navy. Mr Forshaw was brought up in Bootle and spent his childhood on Merseyside, but his adult life was spent in Leeds. He was a mathematics teacher at Halton, Garforth and Belle Isle and lived lastly at Swallow Drive off Shadwell Lane. “Scouse,” the word in the title, is a Liverpudlian term for vegetable stew, said Louise – and a vicar is indeed mentioned in the 268-page paperback. One of the characters is based on Mr Forshaw’s own GP in Shadwell. “Dad touched the lives of many people,” said Louise. “He taught mathematics for 30 years and trained cross-country runners and campaigned for the Liberal Democrats and Coun Mark Harris. “He once wrote a film script and he helped an actor get a role in The Full Monty by putting him in touch with the producers. He also built a boat and sailed it around Scotland for five years.” Humour The blurb on the book cover says: “Although this story is fictional, Billy Forshaw has drawn on many historical sources, national as well as local, including eyewitness accounts, to ensure accuracy in his portrayal of the wartime atmosphere. “The reader is given a real sense of the hardships and anxieties suffered during this time of conflict with humour obviously playing a large part in helping everyone to cope.” ● More Scouse, Vicar? costs £10.95 and is available from all good book shops quoting ISBN:978-1-85756-618-5 MANY SKILLS: Billy Forshaw taught maths, trained runners and built a boat

The North Leeds Post Wednesday 16th July 2008

Book is memorial to Bootle man

May 22 2008

by Janine Yaqoob, Bootle Times

A BOOK written by a former Bootle resident about a Liverpool family during World War II has been published. Unfortunately More Scouse, Vicar? was printed after author Billy Forshaw died on March 20 this year. The story charts the life of one family in Liverpool, with a young mother forced to tend to two young daughters on her own after her husband left to go in the navy. Louise Forshaw, Billy’s daughter, said: “When my dad died, at first I felt angry that he missed out on seeing his book published.He didn’t care about the money but he would have loved to know people were reading his book and enjoying it. I have decided to try and channel my loss into something positive and try to circulate the book myself.' Billy Forshaw was born in Liverpool and brought up in Bootle. After two years national service in Hong Kong, he returned to England and went on to have a long and successful career in teaching mathematics and coaching athletics.   He still has family roots established in the Bootle