Showell Styles was born in Four Oaks, Birmingham and educated at Bishop Vesey's Grammar School in nearby Sutton Coldfield.
As reported in his obituary by the daily post, in the early 1950s Showell Styles led several expeditions in the Himalayas and Arctic.
In addition to historic naval adventure fiction such as the Midshipman Quinn and Lieutenant Michael Fitton series set during the Napoleonic Wars, and non-fiction works on mountains and such as The Mountaineer's Weekend Book, he wrote detective fiction under the pseudonym of Glyn Carr, and humorous pieces as C.L.
Children's books Anthologies edited Midshipman Septimus Quinn Midshipman Quinn (1956) Quinn of the Fury (1958) Midshipman Quinn and Denise the spy (1961) Midshipman Quinn Wins Through (1961) Quinn at Trafalgar (1965) The Midshipman Quinn Collection (omnibus) (2000) Lieutenant Michael Fitton Adventures A Sword for Mr. Fitton (1975) Mr. Fitton's Commission (1977) The Baltic Convoy (1979) Gun Brig Captain (1987) A Ship for Mr. Fitton (1991) Mr. Fitton's Prize (1993) Mr. Fitton and the Black Legion (1994) Mr. Fitton in Command (1995) The 12-Gun Cutter (1996) Lieutenant Fitton (1997) Mr. Fitton at the Helm (1998) The Martinique Mission (1999) Mr. Fitton's Hurricane (2000) Tiger Patrol Tiger Patrol (1957) The Tiger Patrol Wins Through (1958) The Tiger Patrol at Sea (1958) The Tiger Patrol Presses On (1961) Wolf Cubs Red for adventure (1965) Wolf Cub Island (1966) The Sea Cub (1967) Cubs of the Castle (1969) Cubs on the Job (1972) Simon & Mag Hughes The Shop in the Mountain (1961) The Ladder of Snow (1962) A Necklace of Glaciers (1963) The Pass of Morning (1966) Abercrombie Lewker Traitor's Mountain (1946) Kidnap Castle (1947) Hammer Island (1948) Subsequent Lewker novels were written under the pseudonym Glyn Carr Murder on the Matterhorn (1951) Death on Milestone Buttress (1951) The Youth Hostel Murders (1952) The Corpse in the Crevasse (1952) Death Under Snowdon (1954) A Corpse at Camp Two (1955) Murder of an Owl (1956) The Ice Axe Murders (1958) Swing Away Climber (1959) Holiday With Murder (1960) Death Finds a Foothold (1961) Lewker in Norway (1963) Death of a Weirdy (1965) Lewker in Tyrol (1967) Fat Man's Agony (1969) Other novels Sir Devil (1949) Path to Glory (1951) Dark Hazard (1952) Land from the Sea (1952) Mr. Nelson's Ladies (1953) The Frigate Captain (1954) His Was Fire (1956) The Lost Glacier (1956) The Sea Lord (1956) Kami the Sherpa (US Title: Sherpa Adventure) (1957) Admiral's Fancy (1958) Wolfe Commands You (1959) Shadow Buttress (1959) The Battle of Cotton: Revolution in Britain (1960) Greencoats Against Napoleon (1960) The Flying Ensign: Greencoats Against Napoleon (1960) The Battle of Steam: Revolution in Britain (1961) The Lost Pothole (1961) The Sea Officer (1961) Byrd of the 95th (1962) Gentleman Johnny (1962) Thunder Over Spain (1962) H.M.S.
Diamond Rock (1963) The Camp in the Hills (1964) Greenhorn's Cruise (1964) Mr Fiddle (1965) Number Two-Ninety (1966) Confederate Raider (1967) Mr Fiddle's Band (1967) Indestructible Jones (1967) Journey with a Secret (1968) (aka Mystery of the Fleeing Girl)] Sea Road to Camperdown (1968) Journey with a Success (1969) Jones' Private Navy (1969) Case for Mister Fiddle (1969) The Snowdon Rangers (1970) Forbidden Frontiers (1970) A Tent on Top (1971) Vincey Joe at Quiberon (1971) Admiral of England (1973) Kiss for Captain Hardy (1979) Centurion Comes Home (1980) Quarterdeck Ladder (1982) Seven Gun Broadside (1982) Stella And The Fireships (1983) The Malta Frigate (1983) Mutiny in the Caribbean (1984) The Lee Shore (1986) H. M. S. Cracker (1988) Nelson Made Me (1989) Nelson's Midshipman (1991) The Independent Cruise (1992)