Miller Caldwell was born in 1950 although was not registered as intended as John Miller H. Caldwell because John Caldwell (no relative) was hanged for the killing of two women at Barlinnie prison.
Miller attended Kirriemuir Primary, Glasgow Academy and the University of London’s SOAS. He became a Regional Reporter to the Children’s Panels. He retired aged 53 on health grounds and is now the author of 31 published books.
His notable moments include meeting Usama bin Laden in Abbottabad in 2006, bringing President J J Rawlings to tears in Accra, Ghana, and becoming the camp manager at Mundihar in the NWFP of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Miller returned to Ghana to show the president a picture of his Scottish father and where he was.
A direct descendant of the Bard, he is President of The Robert Burns Club of Dumfries (established in 1820) and Chairman of Dumfries Probus.
You can find Miller and his books at millercaldwell.com
Tell us 4 important facts about yourself:
- I am the father of two brilliant girls
- I play lots of music
- I am blind in my left eye
- I walk an intelligent collie. Or as Georgie tells me, he takes me for walkies.
What is your favourite age that you’ve been so far in life, and why?
Between the ages of two and nine I lived in Kirriemuir. The class enrolment was six. I had great friends. Fruit picking in local fields and making my first sixpence were seasonal highlights and the snow went over my wellies in white winters. Life never got as exciting as my formative years at the Reform street primary school in Kirrie. (Guess what they said in the playground when we moved in 1959 to Glasgow? So, yer from a Reform school!)
Who is your favourite fictional character or famous person over 60?
Kofi Annan – former Secretary General of the United Nations and a Ghanaian when I was in Ghana. Born in 1938 and Nobel Peace Prize winner. He died in 2018. A wonderful man.
You are alone in your house (no pets). You have three minutes to get out before the house collapses and burns to the ground. What one possession would you grab and take with you?
I would save the bust of Robert Burns which adorns my roll top desk as president of the Dumfries Burns Club.
What’s your favourite creative pastime?
My favourite pastime is playing a cello or saxophone.
Tell us something about yourself that’s surprising or unexpected.
I met Usama bin Laden in the NWFP (North–West Frontier Province) at Abbotabad in Pakistan when everyone thought he was in an Afghan cave.
Miller is part of the Autumn Voices Steering Group.
Thank you for your surprising entry of my quirky responses. I have had a remarkable life Miller