William Street first went to sea in 1988 in commercial seismic survey - oil exploration. He worked all over the world for a number of different companies on a dozen or so vessels, travelling widely in the process. He is proud to have visited - at his employers expense rather than his own - such widely different locations as Tierra del Fuego, Rangoon, Istanbul, the Russian arctic, and most ports on the east coast of Mexico, and can tell stories about less exciting places like Immingham Docks, Peterhead, and Port Fourchon, Louisiana.

Today he lives near London and is still involved in the oil industry, though in a role that enables him to practice his passion of creating good written English. He has met many people who are capable administrators, managers, leaders and engineers, but few of them can write good English - and he rejoices in this fact, because it pays his wages.