William John Duncan Spence (born 20 April 1923) is an English writer. He has written war novels as Duncan Spence, and

Westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

as Jim Bowden, Floyd Rogers and Kirk Ford. He has also used the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Hannah Cooper. His most successful novels have been

historical romances Historical romance is a broad category of mass-market fiction focusing on romantic relationships in historical periods, which Walter Scott helped popularize in the early 19th century. Varieties Viking These books feature Vikings during the Da ...

written under the name Jessica Blair.

Life

Spence was born in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

in 1923. He worked as a schoolteacher from 1940 to 1943. He saw active service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

with

Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...

. On 1 October 1943, he was commissioned into the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve as a pilot officer (on probation). His commission was confirmed and he was promoted to flying officer on 1 April 1944. He was promoted to flight lieutenant (

war substantive Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a m ...

) on 1 October 1945. He served as a bomber aimer in Avro Lancasters, completing 36 operations. He was a store manager from 1946 to 1977. He currently lives in Ampleforth near

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. He was nominated for a prize at the 2014

Romantic Novelists' Association Awards The Romantic Novel of the Year Award is an award for romance novels since 1960, presented by Romantic Novelists' Association, and since 2003, the novellas, also won the Love Story of the Year (now RoNA Rose Award). In 2018, awards were given to ...

; his novel ''The Road Beneath Me'', written under the pseudonym "Jessica Blair," was nominated in the Epic Romantic Novel category. Had he won, he would have been the first male writer to do so. Spence was interviewed in May 2019, at the age of 96, where he discussed his service in World War II and his love of cricket. He suggested that, despite medical problems, he did not intend to stop writing. He retired from writing in May 2020, aged 97, after suffering from a fall. He turned 100 on 20 April 2023.

Works

References

External links

jessicablair.co.uk
* Bill Spence
Revisiting the Jim Bowden years... Before Bill became Jessica
''Black Horse Extra'', December 2008-February 2009
An Interview with Jessica Blair (aka Bill Spence)
* Kara
Prolific Romance Novelist is Actually a Lovable Old Coot
11 February 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, Bill 1923 births Living people English writers Western (genre) writers English historical novelists Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Air Force officers