He was a reporter with the Daily Mirror and various other newspapers after serving with the RAF He was married, with four children, and lived in South Wales.
The bulk of his output under the Bill James pseudonym is the Harpur and Iles series.
Colin Harpur is a Detective Chief Inspector and Desmond Iles is the Assistant Chief Constable in an unnamed coastal city in southwestern England.
Harpur and Iles are complemented by an evolving cast of other recurring characters on both sides of the law.
The books are characterized by a grim humour and a bleak view of the relationship between the public, the police force and the criminal element.