Jacqueline Creek

Jacqueline Creek (nee Campbell) was born in 1944 in Sheffield to the sound of the steelworks' hammers. Her childhood dreams of becoming a surgeon were dashed as family commitments and responsibilities fell on her young shoulders. Unexpectedly failing her 11-plus, she went to Chaucer Secondary Modern School and left at fifteen. She found work as an assistant in a chemist's shop which motivated her to train for a position in the dispensary. Jacqueline married at twenty one and moved away from the...See more

Jacqueline Creek (nee Campbell) was born in 1944 in Sheffield to the sound of the steelworks' hammers. Her childhood dreams of becoming a surgeon were dashed as family commitments and responsibilities fell on her young shoulders. Unexpectedly failing her 11-plus, she went to Chaucer Secondary Modern School and left at fifteen. She found work as an assistant in a chemist's shop which motivated her to train for a position in the dispensary. Jacqueline married at twenty one and moved away from the family home, giving her the opportunity to try a variety of jobs, which sadly, never gave her total satisfaction. In her early thirties, fate played a hand that changed her life forever. At the age of thirty seven in 1981, Jackie, as she was now called, started her own fancy dress business, which grew rapidly into a retail outlet and factory employing over 30 people. Supplying many other UK shops with her costumes and exhibiting at Birmingham and London, the business soon began exporting to a wider market, which subsequently gave Jackie a very different lifestyle from what she had known in the back streets of Sheffield. Jackie had always enjoyed writing poetry, so after selling her business and retiring in 2012, she decided to develop her talents further by joining writing and poetry groups. Members encouraged her to write her life story, and after hearing her first chapter, she was presented with a Silver Quill award and interviewed by the Barnsley Chronicle and Radio Penistone. 'The Girl with the Emerald Brooch' is her first published work and she is now working on a sequel. She lives in the foothills of the South Pennines with John, Dave and their assorted rescue dogs, surrounded by an abundance of nature and wildlife. See less