Kent retired dentist’s book on apartheid South Africa
Added: (Wed Sep 20 2023)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
Retired dentist Reginald Walters is making up for his book-less youth in apartheid South Africa by publishing his memoirs.
The 90-year-old from Kent admits he was almost a decade behind fellow medical students after being admitted to dentistry school in the UK.
Despite set-backs and challenges along the way, the grandfather-of-five progressed to have a successful career with the NHS.
Following encouragement from friends, Reginald has gathered a life’s worth of stories together to publish Who Made the Tea?
He said: “I grew up without access to a library in South Africa and I missed out on reading books.
“The only books I had were my school text books which my parents bought.
“The anxiety of living under apartheid placed reading books a low priority.
“As a result of all of this is that I did not develop a reading habit.
“Added to this, the government chose which subjects we could study - I was not allowed to study Physics and Chemistry.
“No dental school was open to me, which led me to pursue my ambition in England.
“The UK gave me an opportunity, but I was more than 10 years behind the students here.”
Despite a lack of books, the young Reginald did develop a habit of recording his experiences in exercise jotters.
Many of these notebooks were to provide inspiration and material to include in the five-star-rated Who Made the Tea?
Reginald’s deeply personal and incredible stories chart a journey that, despite obstacles and difficulties, is filled with hope and love.
Who Made the Tea? Is described by critics as ‘a heart-warming book’, ‘remarkable’, and ‘a great read’.
Aided and edited by writer Cate Longmuir, Reginald believes his story is one of playing catch-up following a difficult start in life.
He explained: “My life was wasting away in apartheid South Africa when unexpectedly my life's journey took a massive detour and I found myself sailing on a 6000-mile journey in a British ship headed for a free and loving UK where I could fulfil my life's ambition.
“Really since then, I have been playing catch up all my life because of the lost years in South Africa.
“The love I have experienced, though, in this country was beyond belief.”
Away from dentistry, Reginald has been heavily involved with the Methodist Church, and, along with other members of his family, he campaigns for the welfare of the Zulu community in his native South Africa.
For more information visit Amazon and search for Reginald Walters, where the Kindle and paperback versions of Who Made the Tea? are available.
Notes to the Editor
PublishNation was formed in London in 2011 to provide high quality services to writers at affordable prices.
Since its launch, the company has assisted in the publication of around 2,500 books in a variety of genres for clients throughout the world.
For more details on PublishNation, visit their website at www.publishnation.co.uk