Mervyn Edwards was born in Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1961 and became a Green Badge (Heart of England) tourist guide in 1989. He worked at the now-defunct Chatterley Whitfield Mining Museum for four years, becoming Assistant Education Officer, and later becoming a local history tutor for the Workers' Educational Association and Project Officer for the Burslem Heritage Centre. He is a regular contributor to 'The Way We Were' (published by the Staffordshire Sentinel newspaper) and has published thirteen books on North Staffordshire history prior to this one. Mervyn is a familiar voice on BBC Radio Stoke, Spokesman for the Potteries Pub Preservation Group and a leading member of Burslem History Club. He is also a successful artist and cartoonist and has completed seventeen Potteries Marathons.