Brian Robson was born in the United Kingdom in June 1945 and has spent most of his adult life travelling and living in various countries throughout Europe and South East Asia. His new book The Crate Escape narrates his first travelling experience and his devil-may-care attitude to achieve his wish and return home even if it means risking his life to do so, which he did in 1962, when he shipped himself in a crate from Melbourne, Australia to the UK.

Do you remember the moment you decided you were going to go ahead with it, you were going to ship yourself across the world on a plane, in a crate?

Yes, I remember it vividly. I had been planning it for about two weeks and dithering about risking or not risking it. The night before I was due to get in the crate I had a complete sleepless night, tossing and turning over whether to go ahead with it or not. I reasoned that if I did pull out, I would lose face completely with my friends and with that thought in mind I got out of bed and later went, with my two friends, to the area where the crate was stored. I got into the crate and told them to nail the lid down. Only then had I finally made my mind up.

Does it shock you, looking back, that you were able to achieve what you had?

Looking back 56 years and the way ‘planes operated in those days, especially without air-pressure in the hold, makes it a miracle that I managed to achieve the end results without suffering serious injury or even death.

Given the difference in air travel and security in today’s age, what do you think you would have done in your position, as a 19 year old in 2021?

Teens in 2021 seem in many ways to mature earlier than we did in the sixties. They also seem to me to have less of a get up and go or daredevil attitude. Freight is also checked with electronic means and much more tightly controlled than it was back then. I think in today’s world I would try to devise a plan to smuggle myself onto a plane but, as a passenger and with the use of a seat!

How long had you been wanting to put your story into words and publish it?

I have been writing as a hobby for many years and so far, have produced two and a half books – the half has a working title of ‘Sand, Sea, Sun and Connections’ and is the sequel to ‘The Crate Escape’ chronicling my 56 years of adventures since my ‘crate days’. In addition, I have written 7 film scripts and until recently have never tried to publish any of my writings. My family tried hard to persuade me to approach a publisher and I chose ‘The Crate Escape’ which, a short while ago I submitted to a few publishers. Austin Macauley was the first to accept my submission and I now hope it will be the first of many.

If you could summarise your book into 3 words what would they be?

Amazing – Impossible – Successful

What was the best piece of advice given to you in your writing journey?

To start by writing your story in as much detail as possible. If you are writing chapter two and you think of something that can not be used until chapter 32 still write it, do not leave it until later or you may forget it. Ignore grammar, get the story down, the grammar can be corrected later. Finally try and reserve a daily set time; reserved only for writing and stick to it!

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of writing their book?

Think of your story, write the opening lines and make it something that will grab the readers attention. Then, write the final chapter. After you have finished this make a wall chart of all the other chapters (photographs are especially good to use with this) and remember that chapters can be changed later.

Did you learn anything when writing your book?

Yes, I learned that it is hard progressive work which, if you are getting it right, you do not want to leave. Also, if you want your readers to show emotion you must feel it. If you want your readers to cry, you had better be crying when you are writing it!

What inspired you to write your book?

At the time – four years ago, I was lost for a story, so I decided to write (originally a short story) an autobiographical piece about my past life.

Have you got any other books you’re looking to work on in the future?

Yes, I am halfway through the sequel to ‘The Crate Escape’ which I hope to have finished at the end of this year/beginning of next and I’m very excited about it as it contains lots of adventures combined with how I managed to make a success of many business ideas, all based in foreign countries – it also contains some of the many mistakes involved in setting up a business.

My favourite write so far, is ‘Tsunami Survivor’ which is part autobiography part novel and written/edited by me about 7 years ago. I am seriously thinking of submitting it for publication later this year.

Is there anything further you would like to say that we haven’t discussed today?

I am fascinated with the idea of writing more part autobiographies part novels with the entire book based on an actual happening so as well as delving more into my life it gives both me and the reader a chance to delve in a constructive way into the lives of others. It is amazing just how much you can learn about yourself!

Brian Robson’s ‘The Crate Escape’

is available in Paperback and eBook and is available here.

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