Paul Laxton was born in Darwen, Lancashire, in December 1952. He was educated at St Mary's College, Blackburn, then a Roman Catholic Boys Grammar School, and graduated from Keele University with an upper second class honours B.Ed. in History and Education. He taught in High Schools in Kings Lynn and Newcastle-under-Lyme before joining HM Prison Service as a uniformed officer in 1984. The author served at nine different prisons rising to hold posts as Deputy Governor at Dover, Ford, and Lewes prisons before retiring in 2010. An active trade unionist he served on the National Executive Committee of the Prison Governors Association from 2007 and was awarded Distinguished Life Membership on retirement. After leaving the service he and his wife, Leonore, moved to Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. He keeps himself busy as Editor of the Retired Governors Newsletter and Chair of the West Yorkshire Branch of the Civil Service Pensioners Alliance. Paul loves his horse racing, is a member of Lancashire County Cricket Club, and a lifelong fan of Blackburn Rovers FC.