In 1994 he shifted from full-time to part-time, continuing to work for the National Health Service until he finally retired in December 2004 (after 48 years in the NHS).
In his late teens, Denis Cobell spent time at Hove Public Library reading a variety of books including works by Bertrand Russell, who he was to meet at his North Wales home in 1959.
John Rowland had worked for the Rationalist Press Association on the Literary Guide (precursor to the New Humanist magazine) and wrote in The Freethinker.
During this time Cobell also met the feminist author Daisy L. Hobman, who was the initiator of the Brighton and Hove Humanist Group.
Cobell started writing for secular / humanist and socialist publications from the late 1950s and also spoke at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park during the 1960s and 1970s.
[5] Cobell is a pacifist and is currently Chair of the Right to Refuse to Kill (RRK) Group for recognition of conscientious objectors.