W.J. Burley

William John Burley (1 August 1914 – 15 November 2002) was a British crime writer, best known for his books featuring the detective Charles Wycliffe, which became the basis of the popular television series Wycliffe, shown from 1994 to 1998.Burley was born in Falmouth, Cornwall. Before he began writing he was employed in senior management at various gas companies, but after the Second World War he obtained a scholarship to study zoology at Balliol College, Oxford. After obtaining an honours degree he became a teacher. Appointed head of biology, first at Richmond & East Sheen County Grammar School in 1953, then at Newquay Grammar School in 1955, he was well established as a writer by the time he retired, at the age of 60, in 1974. He died at his home in Holywell, Cornwall, on 15 November 2002.