Derek Birley Sir Derek Birley is the author of several books for Aurum, including The Willow Wand, A Social History of English Cricket and the trilogy Sport and the Making of Britain, which won the British Society of Sports History's Aberdare Literary Award in 195. He retired as vice-chancellor of the University of Ulster in 1991 after a distinguished career as an educational administrator. He died in 2002. Read More Read Less