Roy Goostrey was born in 1934 in the town of Stockport in the Industrial North-west of England. Upon leaving school he went into an apprenticeship in the mechanical engineering field, eventually working his way up to become a senior design draughtsman.
In 1966, he and his family emigrated to Canada where he worked as a design engineer. An opportunity to become a qualified high-school teacher became available and he accepted a position teaching Mechanical Drafting. He taught there for twenty-three years, taking early retirement in 1989. Bugle Boy is the story of his life.