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Gerry Wolstenholme

Goodreads Author

Born

in Blackpool, The United Kingdom

Genre

Sports, Literature & Fiction, Poetry

Member Since

September 2008

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/gerryw

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Gerry Wolstenholme was born in Blackpool, Lancashire, and attended Northlands private school from the age of three to five because his Dad wanted him to have a better education than he had managed. He then attended Devonshire Road School, infants and juniors, and finally went to Baines Grammar School in nearby Poulton.

He did not know what he wanted to do while at school and, seeing an advertisement for Civil Service examinations he took them. Having passed, he chose to go to London and entered Her Majesty’s Treasury, Whitehall, where he gained promotion and eventually worked in the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s office.

He married Linda ('the love of my life') in 1968 and in 1972 they decided to move to Gerry’s hometown and relocated in Black Gerry Wolstenholme was born in Blackpool, Lancashire, and attended Northlands private school from the age of three to five because his Dad wanted him to have a better education than he had managed. He then attended Devonshire Road School, infants and juniors, and finally went to Baines Grammar School in nearby Poulton.

He did not know what he wanted to do while at school and, seeing an advertisement for Civil Service examinations he took them. Having passed, he chose to go to London and entered Her Majesty’s Treasury, Whitehall, where he gained promotion and eventually worked in the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s office.

He married Linda ('the love of my life') in 1968 and in 1972 they decided to move to Gerry’s hometown and relocated in Blackpool where Gerry had arranged a transfer to the Department for National Savings. He became ERNIE’s (Premium Bonds) prize draw manager before he took early retirement.

During his Civil Service career he ran a successful secondhand and antiquarian bookselling business, attending book fairs and producing catalogues with a speciality in 19th century English literature. He also wrote his first book, ‘The West Indian Tour of England, 1906’ while still continuing his professional career.

Also a fanatical cricket watcher he produced ‘The Cheltenham Spectator and Festival News’, a day-by-day summary of the Cheltenham cricket festival, for six years. He then produced his own magazine for about the same length of time and there were many disappointed readers when he decided to call it a day for ‘The Cricket Postcard Collectors’ Journal’ magazine that ran to 24 issues. In addition he did radio ball-by-ball commentary on the County Championship and one-day games at the Cheltenham Cricket Festival.

On final retirement he turned to writing more often and contributed many articles to various magazines as well as writing his own books, mainly on sporting themes ('because that was what people wanted me to write'). He was also a regular contributor to the Blackpool Football Club matchday programme, sometimes writing as many as six articles in one issue. And he did match commentary on Blackpool Football Club's Premier League and Football League games for many seasons.

When his wife sadly passed away in 2004 he was devastated and, following a breakdown, he wrote a book of poetry expressing his feelings on the two incidents. He did not expect ‘The Lost-Love Poems of a Madman’ to sell well as he was not known as a poet but the book surpassed expectations and since then he has written occasional poetry on various themes. He says of his poetry book, 'I think it was the title that helped market it for readers were curious as to what it was about!'

In addition to writing his books, he also produces a short run, 10 copies only, of essays on various subjects, ranging from cricket and football to Noel Coward, Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini and these have proved to be very popular.

He says that he doubts whether he will ever produce a novel, ‘I don’t have the imagination to do so’ is his view, but he intends to continue writing, God willing, for some time to come.

After his wife's death he was also drawn into another sphere when he was asked to do an after-dinner talk; he says, 'A friend of mine thought I was not eating well and invited me to his Rotary Club for a meal with the proviso that I would do a talk. I asked him how he thought I could do such a talk and he simply said that he had known me long enough and knew that I could do it - so I did!' After that engagements poured in, even without any advertising - 'and certainly not any self-promoting' for he confesses to be extremely nervous prior to each engagement. Initially he did the talks without charging a fee but then decided that he would raise funds for Trinity Hospice, where his beloved wife was treated, and he has continued to do that over the years. ...more

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Gerry Wolstenholme’s books

Average rating: 4.96 · 26 ratings · 3 reviews · 43 distinct works

	The West Indian Tour of England 1906 by Gerry Wolstenholme (Goodreads Author), Deborah Wolstenholme (Illustrator) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 1992	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Lost-Love Poems of a Madman it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2008	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blackpool FC Miscellany Seasiders Trivia, History, Facts & Stats it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2011 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blackpool Finally Conquered ... as Manchester United triumph at Wembley, 1948 it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2016	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Phoenix from the Ashes: The Rise and Rise of Blackpool Football Club 1887 - 1888 it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2019	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	From Peak to Pool A Short History of Lancashire versus Derbyshire Matches at Blackpool by Gerry Wolstenholme (Goodreads Author), Deborah Wolstenholme (Illustrator) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 1994	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Towering Success The Eighth Australians in Blackpool August 1893 it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2007	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Harold Larwood Blackpool Cricket Club professional it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2003	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fleetwood Cricket Club: Northern Premier League Champions 2004 The Story of the Season it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2004	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	By Bus to Wollongong Blackpool Football Club's World Tour 1958 it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2014	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Gerry Wolstenholme's Blog

Lancashire v Glamorgan

A Smash and Grab Raid at Stanley Park

Lancashire Men’s Vitality Blast game at Stanley Park yesterday turned out to be an absolute cracker with 403 runs being scored with 27 fours and 26 sixes. And in an astonishing (and unexpected) finish, Glamorgan, whose captain Kiran Carlson had won the toss and elected to field, won the match with a four from the final ball of the game.
It turned out to be a ve Read more of this blog post »

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Published on June 08, 2026 04:43 • Tags: chris-cooke, cricket, lancashire, liam-livingstone-glamorgan, vitality-blast

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Gerry rated a book liked it The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery of the Little Mermaid (Happy Hollisters, #18) by Jerry West [Pseudonym]	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Hollister family, father John, general store owner of The Trading Post, mother Elaine, children Pete, the eldest at 12, Pam is 10, Ricky is seven, Holly at six is a tomboy, and the youngest Sue is four years old, take a holiday to Copenhagen, Den ...more
8 hours, 24 min ago · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery of the Little Mermaid by Jerry West [Pseudonym]. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery of the Little Mermaid by Jerry West [Pseudonym] <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Gerry rated a book it was amazing Friends are cheaper than therapy by Cath Tate	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Brilliantly funny! Cath Tate has done a superb job in superbly tinting these quirky photographs - some that one cannot believe were really taken - that date from between 1880 and 1960 and then adding highly amusing captions to match the images. The se ...more
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Gerry rated a book it was amazing Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apparently Dr. Seuss thought traditional reading books were boring , so he set out to write a fun story using only 250 simple words. The result was (sensationally) 'The Cat in the Hat'. What happened next was that he was challenged to write a book us ...more
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Gerry rated a book liked it The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery of the Little Mermaid (Happy Hollisters, #18) by Jerry West [Pseudonym]	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Hollister family, father John, general store owner of The Trading Post, mother Elaine, children Pete, the eldest at 12, Pam is 10, Ricky is seven, Holly at six is a tomboy, and the youngest Sue is four years old, take a holiday to Copenhagen, Den ...more
13 hours, 30 min ago · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery of the Little Mermaid by Jerry West [Pseudonym]. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery of the Little Mermaid by Jerry West [Pseudonym] <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Gerry rated a book it was amazing Crippen: A Novel of Murder by John Boyne (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
John Boyne presents us with a fictionalised account of the famous Dr Crippen case of the early 20th century with many of the characters and situations taken from the facts of the case and others created, successfully, to serve the plot. The book moves ...more
Jul 30, 2026 10:19AM · 9 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Crippen by John Boyne. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Crippen by John Boyne <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Gerry rated a book it was ok The Magic Paintbrush by Julia Donaldson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Julia Donaldson turns her attention to Eastern art themes with the assistance of illustrator Joel Stewart whose artwork mirrors the Japanese style veery well' With her magic paintbrush, Shen enjoys painting steaming pots full of fish and oysters to fe ...more
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Gerry rated a book liked it Sauce by Ronnie Barker	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Ronnie Barker was always a collector of seaside lovelies in any shape or form so he is just the man to put together a book like 'Sauce'. In his introduction he writes, This book is meant to delight the eye. It is intended, as most culinary sauces do, ...more
Jul 28, 2026 09:13AM · 1 like · like · see review
Gerry rated a book it was ok The Magic Paintbrush by Julia Donaldson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Julia Donaldson turns her attention to Eastern art themes with the assistance of illustrator Joel Stewart whose artwork mirrors the Japanese style veery well' With her magic paintbrush, Shen enjoys painting steaming pots full of fish and oysters to fe ...more
Jul 28, 2026 04:03AM · 1 like · like · see review
Gerry rated a book liked it Peppa Goes to the Zoo by Jacqueline Rayner	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
When I buy books for my friends' young children I regularly sneak a read of them first, thus here is my first sighting of Peppa Pig! Madame Gazelle is in charge of Peppa and her friends as they decide to go to the zoo and Madame Gazelle tells them, un ...more
Jul 27, 2026 04:25AM · 1 like · like · see review
Gerry rated a book it was ok Murdoch's Australians in the USA 1882 by Steve Smith (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
As a cricket follower, fanatic One might even say, I always enjoy reading cricket books now and again and the title of this particular one was appealing. The author Steve Smith has written any number on American cricket featuring the Philadelphian te ...more
Jul 27, 2026 04:18AM · 2 likes · like · see review