A FAMILY holiday to Devon more than 40 years ago was the 'seed' which grew into a series of books written by a Lowestoft man that have now gone on general sale in his home town for the first time.

William Walker, 89, of Yarmouth Road, has devoted what he describes as 'a lifetime's work' to the five historical and Biblical titles, which he hopes will offer 'new light and truth for the British people.'

With questions posed and answers offered on a variety of subjects – ranging from the future of the British Monarchy to the attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York – the books have been described by his publishers as 'the most stimulating and thought-provoking ideas you have ever read'.

Recalling how the books came about, Mr Walker told The Journal: 'In 1968 I went on a holiday with my family to Devon and picked up a leaflet in a bookshop which suggested that the lost tribes of Israel eventually came to Britain. It intrigued me greatly and that was the seed which resulted in these five books.

'I investigated the theory, gained a lot of help from various people and collected a lot of literature while I was still working. Then in 1982 I took early retirement and decided to concentrate on my hobby of writing books.'

Since then, Mr Walker has never looked back and tomorrow the five books will all be on sale at Waterstones in Lowestoft town centre – marking a key moment for him in his 90th year.

He began writing the first book, In The Isles of the Sea, spending 13 years researching it.

'It is a historical book combined with Biblical information and is not easy,' Mr Walker said. 'It requires a lot of checking of details before I had even put anything to paper. It has been a while to produce the five books – 30-plus years of hard work. The preparation was very intense as I knew I had to get all the historical facts right.'

What makes Mr Walker's achievement even more remarkable is that all his books were written in longhand, without the use of a computer. He submitted them in this form to Trafford Publishing in Indiana, USA.

'I have had to go everywhere across the country to research the books – the British Library in London, and other libraries in Ireland and Scotland as well as the British Library in Wetherby – to get the facts,' Mr Walker said.

He added: 'Staff at Lowestoft Library have also been very helpful.'

Born in Castleford in Yorkshire in 1922 and educated in Leeds, Mr Walker began his career in the Royal Navy, serving from 1939 to 1952 with a rank of Leading Torpedo Operator attached to the 1st British and Greek submarine flotillas in the Mediterranean and the 14th and 19th minesweeping flotillas.

'I served across the world, before eventually coming back on HMS Marmion that came to Lowestoft, and this is where I first met my wife Freda,' Mr Walker said.

'Her father, Reginald Munnings, was head bridgeman of Lowestoft swing bridge and they are distantly related to the painter Sir Alfred Munnings.'

Mr and Mrs Walker married in 1948, and the family now boasts six children, 14 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. The couple became converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1957, with Mr Walker serving in numerous positions, most notably as branch president in Lowestoft from 1959 to 1964.

Mr Walker was also instrumental in the building of the new chapel in Yarmouth Road, Lowestoft, but after many years of studying Biblical and secular history, he has now published his series of books.

He reserved special thanks to his 'dearly departed wife Freda' and family for their support, his friend Corey Brand from the USA who sponsored the first book, Eric Dutton for sponsoring the other four books, Ron and Gail Larter, from Lowestoft, for their artwork and word processing skills, Darren Atkinson from Norwich who has worked on the text in three of the books, and Terry Good, from Tonbridge Wells, who was the proof reader.

His friend and associate Eric Dutton, from Leicestershire, told The Journal: 'In 1968, William started studying the topic and it has taken him all of these years to produce these five books. I think its a wonderful achievement.'

The five books – In The Isles of the Sea, Unlocking The Patmos Code, Genesis The Morning Breaks, Not On Friday Not On Sunday and The Islands Of Destiny – will all be on sale at Waterstones in London Road North tomorrow, with Mr Walker and Mr Dutton both on hand to sign and talk about the titles.