Tony Buckingham

The Gravedigger's Apprentice Tony Buckingham

Publisher Marketing: Written in 1997, this entertaining account of the author's life and colourful career - from gravedigger's apprentice, student and deputy headmaster to highly successful stamp dealer - is a fascinating read from beginning to end. The author's infectious humour is peppered liberally throughout as he shares anecdotes about his early days including a hilarious insight into the council workers' politics and perspectives, his teaching career, and how he transformed his kitchen table stamp dealing hobby into a lucrative business, Benham, Britain's biggest First Day Cover company in its day, which he sold for 3 million in 1996. Set in the iconic years of the mid-20th century, this is a memoir steeped in cultural history. The author paints a very rich picture of the reality behind the Mods and Rockers and he shares an insight into housing booms, his family and friends, cars, the price of property and stamp auctions. He shares his sporting adventures, drama club days, football coaching stories, and his relationships with a whole host of captivating characters (Evil Penguin and the Indian Princess are just two of the characters you need to look out for). The Gravedigger's Apprentice is the kind of memoir that will appeal to a whole range of readers, both the amateur and professional philatelists, teachers, sports enthusiasts and anyone who simply loves to be taken back to a time when life was so much simpler. The author has regularly written articles in all the leading stamp magazines. He was the Editor of Collect FDC for twenty years and is now Chairman of Internet Stamps Group Ltd, the new company he started once he sold Benham and became bored."