Geoff Pridmore

Geoff Pridmore’s long held ambition was to be a writer, but it wouldn’t be until the late 1980s that he began writing articles for national press and magazines as a freelance contributor.

 A keen aviation buff he was a witness to Robin Bowes fatal accident at Stourhead Gardens in 1995 just prior to beginning a degree course in Journalism Studies.  A year later, with the kind permission and encouragement of Robin Bowes’ family and friends, he began researching and compiling material with a view to writing a biography that would document the life of a highly respected civilian display pilot who had made his name flying as the “Red Baron”.

To comprehensively research Robin’s remarkable story, the author spent 18 years compiling notes and interviewing the pilot’s family, friends and colleagues – a process that took him across Britain and Ireland whilst trying to find a literary agent and/or a publisher.

In 2013, having completed a final draft of the book, an acquaintance encouraged him to self publish the biography. The title: Not the Red Baron having been inspired by a Tori Amos album track also of that title.

However, in recent years and following the completion of a Master’s degree in History, the author – having uncovered new information that he considered relevant to Bowes’ story – has included it in this edition for the first time. 

Geoff Pridmore is also the author ofTeach Yourself Journalismand his first fiction novel,The Reunionwas published in 2020. He is a member of The Society of Authors and also The Biographer’s Club. He lives in West Cornwall with his wife where he writes and gives talks on Robin Bowes life and work to clubs, societies and at festivals throughout the year.