A WIDOWER who has lived in Oxford for almost 50 years has written his first book at the age of 82.

Former teacher Edward Walker, from East Oxford, is set to release his non- fiction title for adults, Treasure Beneath the Heart, this week.

It comes almost 15 years after the father-of-two first put pen to paper.

He said: “It’s a good feeling. It’s been a big step for me. My family have been a wonderful support and really helpful.”

John Hunt Publishing is launching his book, which focuses on myth, gospel and spirituality, on Friday.

Mr Walker said: I always though one day I would like to write for grown-ups. That’s how I put it to myself."

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“I thought there was an intense amount of ignorance around church people and non-church people and understanding the difference between historical truth and myth.”

Mr Walker studied classics and theology at Cambridge University before attending Ripon College at Cuddesdon, near Oxford, in 1955 for training with the Church of England.

After a stint as a curate in the UK, he spent five years working in South Africa.

He returned to the UK in 1966 and met the woman who would be his wife, Catherine, while she was working for Oxford University's Department of Education. They married the following year.

Mr Walker joined St James' Church in 1967 and served the Cowley community as priest for eight years. But he decided to quit church life and embarked on a career as a teacher, taking a one-year religious studies PGCE course at the University of Birmingham. He said: “I wanted a broader experience. I wanted to work with people in a wider context than the Church.”

Mr Walker took up a post as a religious education teacher at Witney’s Wood Green School in 1976, later becoming head of department.

He said: “It was terribly difficult but after five years I enjoyed it more than I could have imagined.

“I think being with children, watching them grow up from being a child to adults, is such a miraculous and wonderful thing.

"I enjoyed watching them develop.”

After retiring from full-time teaching in 1990 he had several part-time posts including working at Cowley’s Cricket Road Centre and Henley College. His wife died from gall bladder cancer in July 2011.

He also spent 10 years helping to maintain the Thames Path and Ridgeway National Trails, and worked as a volunteer at The Bridge night shelter in Oxford, supporting young homeless residents for five years.

Mr Walker said: “It was difficult seeing young people in those situations.

"It gave me an insight into a world that is hidden from most of us.

"A lot of them come from disadvantaged backgrounds, difficult homes of one kind or another and a lot of them had been, or were still into drugs.”