Geoff Archer was born in Manchester in 1945 and now lives in Cheshire. After an abortive 2 years studying architecture at Manchester Regional College of Art, he switched to a B.A. course in Fine Art at Trent Polytechnic, Nottingham (now Trent University). This was followed by an A.T.C. course at Reading University which led to a teaching career lasting over 30 years. In the mid 1990s he completed a course in Art History at Manchester University, gaining an M.A. with distinction. The subject of his dissertation was the figurative sculpture of British First World War memorials, which ultimately led to the publication of his first book, ’The Glorious Dead’, in November 2009. Despite this new career as art historian, painting remains his primary interest and he continues to draw and paint and show his work, his most recent solo exhibition being at Buxton Museum and Art Gallery in 2007.