Author & Illustrator

Author

Ray Ironside grew up in the English seaside town of Weymouth in Dorset. His first job was in the W H Smith bookshop. Within two years, Ray and his sister Shirley became professional entertainers and travelled Great Britain and overseas entertaining. On meeting his future wife, Wendy, on board a cruise liner, Ray emigrated to Tasmania, where he has lived ever since.

Ray’s work life has been in small businesses as a newsagent, real estate agent and motelier. Now retired, Ray still enjoys music, singing and composing.

Rolly was conceived as a project during covid and is dedicated to his five grandchildren.

Illustrator

Richard and Ray met in Weymouth during their first days at infant school in the early 1950s. They have been very good friends ever since.

Richard started his working life as a fitter and turner. However, his ambition was to be an engineer, which was soon realised and he continued in that profession, in various specialised fields until he retired as a responsible engineer in the aerospace industry. With time on his hands, Richard picked up a brush and started painting and illustrating. The results bring the Rolly story to life with his cartoon-style illustrations.