For the last twenty years, Michael Turner has been writing on the life and voyages of Sir Francis Drake. Drake has had many biographers, but Michael's story is unique.

It is written as the result of his visiting just about everywhere Drake went. He photographed each anchorage or town and wrote based on primary sources, often whilst in the field.

Michael Turner is a secondary school teacher of Physical Education. Concurrent with his research on Drake, Michael has studied Spanish, which has been the most useful language during his travels. He is the sole field worker. From his photo-journalist activities, Michael has had various work published:

• Two narrated slide packs on human rights for Focal Point
• An illustrated article on travel photography in developing countries and photographic aspects of his work on Drake, both for Pentax Photographers' Magazine
• A series of illustrated Drake features that have appeared in Papagaio, the travel journal of Journey Latin America, London

To date Michael has visited sixty-one countries, several of wich have involved numerous return visits. His collection of slides at Barnaby's Picture Library, London, ensures that his travel pictures are published worldwide. Progress of Michael's expeditions and his desire to search for Drake's lead coffin have been constantly monitored by the national press. This led to interviews on regional TV news programmes and a nationwide BBC TV documentary.

He has also participated on BBC radio broadcasts at regional, national and international level. In 1993, Michael received an Honourable Mention in the Rolex Awards for Enterprise for his work on retracing the voyages of Sir Francis Drake and for assessing the feasibility of searching for his lead casket.

The "In Drakes Wake" project appears on the internet. Consequently, Michael received many more enquiries. This encouraged him to mark the 400th anniversary of Drake's death in 1996 by establishing The Drake Exploration Society. Its aims are to perpetuate the memory of Sir Francis through research, fieldwork, lectures and publications.

In 2001, Michael appeared on the international Sky History Channel. The documentary dealt with Drake's world voyage and comprised interviews with the world's leading Drake scholars. Once again, Michael supplied some of the illustrations from his Drake travels.

Visit Michael's own website