A WARRINGTON author will soon release a biographical novel based on the towns famous fashion designer, Ossie Clark.

But successful writer, Thomas Kennedy needs the help of residents to bring the book to life with pictures of the icon from his childhood days.

Thomas, 62, originally from Great Sankey, attended the same school as the fashion designer, Beamont Technical School, and was left ‘inspired’ after Ossie once paid the students a visit to speak on his own success.

The author, who was only a young teen at the time said: “He inspired me that there was more to life than just Warrington, there was other things going on out there.”

Known to most as Tommy, he said that while he had only started researching Ossie a few years ago, the idea of writing the book had been on his mind for a ‘long time’.

The novel follows the ‘extraordinary’ life of Ossie Clark and his ‘rise from anonymity to the pinnacle of the fashion world’. It is titled ‘Ossie Clark: The Highs and Lows of a Legendary Fashion Designer’.

Tommy is requesting the help of readers to send in pictures of Ossie from his school days and growing up in Warrington during the era of 1953 to 1958 that can be featured in the book, with emphasis that the person supplying the picture must own the copyright.

As well as writing the biography, Tommy has also recently begun a creative writing degree, studying at the prestigious Birkbeck University in London, known for having some of the greats such as T.S Eliot and Oscar Wilde lecture in its grounds.

Currently residing in Notting Hill, London, the writer who has published eight books previously to this said how it has been a long and bumpy journey to success, having had a turbulent childhood back when he lived in Great Sankey.

“I am the first in my immediate family to go to university. I am loving it to be honest, I never got the opportunity when I was a kid,” he said.

“I went off the rails when I was a kid, but now I am mature I have the aspirations for it.

“I never got the chance to get any qualifications, so I see this as a challenge. I like the structure of it.”

Tommy’s first book was released in 2019, titled ‘Nightmare in Jamaica’.

The gripping story follows the chaotic life Tommy lead as a youngster, having served time for several convictions before being landed with a long sentence in a ‘notorious’ prison in Jamaica which triggered a turning point in his life.

Having come through the other side of this, the author then found himself within the music industry managing bands for more than two decades, including the likes of Warrington-born rock group, Slydigs before later finding his passion for writing.

The release date for the Ossie Clark biography will be March 15, 2023, and anyone who can help provide pictures is asked to email them to tommykiv@gmail.com

You can find more of Tommy’s novels under his author name ‘Tommy Kennedy IV’ on Waterstones website.