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Craig Cabell
Craig Cabell is the author of over 20 history books and biographies. For 20 years he was a freelance journalist working in the arts, writing for magazines and newspapers as diverse as The Independent, Book and Magazine Collector and SF/Horror genre magazines Starburst and Shivers. Born 11 April 1969 in London, Cabell grew up in the rural suburb of London Abbey Wood, before the development of the now huge housing estate Thamesmeade. His youth was filled with playing football and making camps in the woods. He attended Alexander McLeod Primary School and Abbey Wood Comprehensive School, and after encouragement from his English teacher Moira Sterry, started submitting short stories to LBC's Through the Night Programme. By the age of 18 he had approximately a dozen stories broadcast including The Man Who Loved Christmas, Guest House, Akin to Light, Mr Rake, Sorrow's Angels, Night, The Flame and the Whisper. He left school at 18 and worked in retail for several months before signing the Offical Secrets Act and enrolling in the Ministry of Defence. A 20 year career ran alongside his work as a freelance reporter. Between 1999 and 2004 he worked for the House Journal of the Ministry of Defence Focus, where he wrote many features, news items and regular history pieces. He run a monthly wordsearch and a respected wine Column called The Grapes of MoD, parodying the title of a famous Steinbeck novel. For seven years he held many wine tastings in the Henry VIII Wine Cellar in the depths of MoD Main Building,some for charitable causes.

Author
In 2001 Robson Books published his first book Frederick Forsyth - A Matter of Protocol. Cabell wasn't too happy with the finished product. He wasn't given time to proof his book before it went to print and he remained disatisfied with it until he learnt that a European college studied it for creative writing lessons shortly after publication. His second book The Kray Brothers - The Image Shattered, also for Robson Books was released in 2002, also by Robson Books and was a happier affair. The book received great praise from the media and those who knew the Kray Twins and their bloody history too. Both of Cabell's first two books were sent to reviewers as proof copies (unbeknown to Cabell), the Forsyth book having a slightly longer interview with Forsyth that was cut because of 9/11, the Kray book, having incomplete text at the proof copy stage; but still including the radical fact that Ronnie Kray took shots at George Cornell with two hand guns during the Blind Beggar slaying.

Cabell's next book was due to be his first. After meeting horror writer James Herbert many times the author agreed to be the subject of a biography. Cabell originally planned the book with HarperCollins and Macmillan but eventually moved to John Blake who published it in 2004. The book was significant because it included a previously unpublished short story from Herbert and a previously cut chapter from Number One bestseller Sepulchre.

Cabell wrote half a dozen books about the Second World War, his most respected book co-written by Graham Thomas, who was a fellow reporter at Focus, Operation Big Ben - The anti-V2 Spitfire Mission. The book was significant because it wrote a whole new chapter in Spitfire history authenticated by former TV presenter and Spitfire pilot Raymond Baxter who flew in the dive-bombing missions. A copy of the book was presented to 602 Squadron museum in Glasgow by Baxter during a special dinner, the book also enjoyed a special book launch at Duxford with Cabell's guests of honour being Raymond Baxter and Lady Bader. Seven Spitfires flew that day and the authors and Baxter signed copies of the book for aviation enthusiasts along with other veterans associated with Operation Big Ben. A wonderful CGI film of Operation Big Ben was made, crediting Cabell and Thomas and approved by Baxter, a Special Limited Edition wooden model of Baxter's Spitfire was also commissioned and signed by Baxter shortly before his death. At his memorial service at St Clement Dane in London, Cabell and Thomas were invited along where special mention was made of Baxter's exploits in Operation Big Ben.

Cabell's other important work concerning the Second World War was The History of 30 Assault Unit, a book that was widely copied and became the basis of a film staring Sean Bean and Danny Dyer. Cabell was asked to be an historical advisor for the production, which he agreed to but was thwarted from taking part in by a volcanic ash cloud that stopped many flights to Europe at that time. The film was incredibly flawed as a consequence.

Cabell's work about author Ian Rankin was only eclipsed by his book The Doctor's Who's Who, a string of many biographies about all the TV Doctor Whos and what they did other than Doctor Who. The book hit the bestseller lists but sadly ran out of copies before it had a chance to hit the top ten. The book was revised for paperback and received many great reviews. The book was radically updated for the 50th Anniversary of the programme in 2013 and released under a different title Who Were the Doctors?

In 2013 he wrote another 50th Anniversary book Killing Kennedy, a book that set out to prove that Lee Harvey Oswald never shot President Kennedy at all.

Expert
Cabell was known as a keen shooter while working in the MoD and is often linked to the group of Defence companies known as the Ballistic Tool Kit, or BTK as they are known in the UK. His knowledge of weapons and specialist marksman equipment earned him much respect and this helped him shape his perceptions when analysing the Zapruder film while writing his Kennedy assassination book. Cabell's other skills are diverse: he is an authority on collecting the first editions of Charles Dickens; but also modern writers who number amongst his acqaintences, such as James Herbert, Ian Rankin, Frederick Forsyth and Julian Stockwin. He has also written extensive bibliographies of Ian Fleming and Dennis Wheatley, interestingly linking both men to the flight of Rudolf Hess to the UK, nting it as a successful deception plan by British Intelligence during the Second World War. During his time at Focus Cabell interviewed the current Duke of Hamilton who spoke about his father's meeting woth Hess when he flew to Scotland.

Scotland
Cabell's love of Scotland has been expressed through his work. His love of Robert Louis Stevenson and the Sherlock Holmes novels has been well documented in his work. Every year he is seen at the Edinburgh Book Festival, climbing Arthur's Seat with his son (a published photogtrapher while still at school), and acquiring rare Rosebank whisky, one of his favourite and most expensive tipples during the Fringe.

Interviews
Some of Cabell's most interesting interviews were during his Focus days and were unfortunately cut. These included Sir Edward Heath, Lord Carver, Prince Farmanfarmain, Michael Hesletine; although his regular interviews with Spike Milligan and TV chef and drinking partner Keith Floyd were well documented.