Bryan Campbell Johnston was raised and schooled in North Yorkshire; he returned to Richmondshire in 2020. Bryan has three children and three grandchildren.
Between leaving North Yorkshire and returning, Bryan had both a military and legal career. His military career started at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and ended as a Major commanding an infantry company during the Gulf War I. In between, he served in Germany and Northern Ireland and other outposts around the shrinking globe.
His legal career started at the University of Westminster and the School of Law, and ended as a Solicitor and Managing Partner of a law firm. In between, Bryan was involved in the arts as a Director and Trustee of a regional theatre for six years. He has been, among other appointments, Chair of a charity and Chair of a Chamber of Commerce. Bryan is a trained Mediator.
He is currently Chair of a building preservation Charity.
Bryan wrote articles for a business magazine for several years; he had a play performed at Brentwood Theatre, and his adaptation of Northanger Abbey was performed in over 31 locations by a professional touring troupe.
Bryan’s hobbies include writing, theatre, horseracing, sailing, golf, trekking and skiing.
Bryan writes under the name ‘Campbell Johnston’, and Horace was his first published novel. His second novel, A Life Quite Ordinary, was published in 2025