Fighter Writer: The Eventful Life of Sergeant Joe Lee, Scotland’s Forgotten War Poet

The true story of a Scottish journalist, Sergeant Joe Lee, who wrote poetry, sketches, and reports of the bitter and intense fighting in the trenches of the First World War with the legendary Black Watch. His work reached his hometown of Dundee and crossed the Atlantic to America. Tragedy and a spell as a prisoner of war were endured only for the experience to be repeated during the hardships of the London blitz of the Second World War, where he survived with Dorothy, his musician wife. His life as a journalist encompassed meetings with many celebrities of the era in London and a falling out with the Poet Laureate Robert Bridges, which many intellectuals believed led to him being unappreciated by London society as a poet.

Bob Burrows, born in Wrexham, North Wales, in 1941, had pretensions of being a professional footballer but, after a spell with a club, diverted into a banking career in which he achieved the role of Area Director for the North West of England. Even whilst controlling 105 branches of the bank, he often dreamt of pursuing a writing career. At the age of 52, he took early retirement and started traveling the world with his wife Pat and commenced his writing career. Newspapers, magazines, and articles started as a hobby until one editor inspired Bob to write a book. Since then, he has had nine books published. One of his first books, Fighter Writer, the true story of a First World War poet, was launched at the Imperial War Museum, London, in 2004 and was followed by a week-long tour in Scotland, the birthplace of the biographical character Sergeant Joe Lee, giving talks and signing books. He was later nominated for Scotland’s highest literary award, the Saltire Prize for Best Book and Best New Writer. Grandma’s Letters followed in 2006, when Bob, inspired by Ethel’s stories, spent almost two years interviewing her as he believed that it would make an excellent story for the family. His last book, Around the World in Several Ways, was published by Austin Macauley in 2020. It tells of his and wife Pat’s trips to all parts of the world, including four road trips around America.