there does not seem to be a lot about him apart from some stuff about
his scriptwriting activities.
I see to vaguely recall listening to a radio interview with the
author of the Onedin Line books on which the TV series was based.
This was many years ago, and of course my recollection is now a bit
sketchy. The theme of this was about how he thought up the plot and
overall story, how the name "Onedin" came about.
I seem to think that he was either at one time a bus driver in
Liverpool? And that the ideas came to him while driving around the
city about what dramas history had played out. The name "Onedin came
from some destination of the bus. (Or it was at least something to do
with the destinations displayed on the busses).
The story of the family had been drafted right up to modern times
(then the 1970s) but only a few of the early stories were published
in book form. I presume these drafts exist somewhere.
Of course I could be entirely wrong about this, but it would be
interesting to know for sure. I hope someone might know on here.
As an historical aside, there is a real story of a character similar
to James Onedin and from about the same era too. A little information
here:
http://www.theheritagetrail.co.uk/notable%20houses/the_grove.htm
Bill.