The author of thirteen novels and one work of non-fiction, he was married with 4 children when he died suddenly at the age of 51.
During his childhood Barlow lived in various locations in the West Midlands, his father having to move fairly frequently for his job with a bank.
The family eventually settled in Wales due to his father’s ill health, a problem dating back to his military service in WW1.
Upon leaving school, James attended a commercial college before joining the Birmingham Corporation Water Department.
After he had recovered his health, James returned to the Birmingham Corporation as a water rates inspector and began to write in earnest.