Businessman's Half a Lettuce biography raises £16,000 for Hull animal charity

Half a Lettuce, written by the chair of Sewell Group Paul Sewell, charts his life growing up in Hull and his career journey to the top of one of the region’s most successful companies.

Proceeds from the sale of the book have gone towards supporting the work of Hull Animal Welfare Trust.

Sue Sewell, chair of the Trust and the wife of Paul, said the charity has its own fascinating origin story.

“It was Christmas 1985 when we found a dog abandoned with her puppies on the streets of Hull. There was absolutely nowhere we could find a home for her so we advertised and asked around and a market gardener said we could use the two sheds at his smallholding.

“We came for a look. He was glad of the company and he said we could stay. Suddenly we had enough room for six or seven dogs but the facilities were very basic with only one water standpipe, which froze in winter, and a hole in the ground which we dug to dispose of the animal waste.

“When he died, he left everything to the Trust. Owning our own land gave us security and over the years we have worked hard to raise the money we needed to invest in the site, building new accommodation gradually and create a facility where the animals are warm, safe and have outdoor areas for exercise and play.”

Mr Sewell published Half a Lettuce just after the nation headed into a series of lockdowns in 2020.

He decided from the outset that instead of charging a set price for the book he would invite donations to the charity co-founded by his wife in 1982 as a club finding foster homes for abandoned dogs and cats.

Plans to launch the book at a joint event with Alan in Paul and Sue’s home village of Cottingham were abandoned because of the pandemic but a glowing endorsement by former local MP Alan Johnson, who has now written six acclaimed books, ensured a brisk start to sales.

Mr Johnson said: “From its vivid description of Hull’s fruit market in the 1950s to the way it illustrates the rise of the Sewell Group to be one of the Sunday Times top companies in Britain, Half a Lettuce is a fascinating story, beautifully told.

“It shows how a secondary modern boy from a tough East Riding family overcame every setback to become an inspiring leader determined to nurture success in others.”

Mr Sewell doubled the print run to 1,000 and admits to being blown away by the book’s success.

He said: “I can’t say it flew off the shelves because it wasn’t in any shops, but the big stack of books that was in my garage is now much smaller. We’re down to about the last hundred, which is a very pleasant surprise given that we couldn’t have a launch event.

“Alan described it as being two books in one – a social history of the area and a business book – and the result is it’s been random, curious people from all over the world.

"Some are current contacts and some are friends from years ago, even from my football days with Hull City and Bridlington Town, people from my days working with my Dad in the fruit trade.

“We’ve shipped it to a few countries including Australia, the USA, Canada, Estonia.

“It’s global. Hull people get everywhere and have taken these stories with them. Most importantly they have helped us raise a decent amount of money for a fantastic charity and hopefully we can bring in bit more from the remaining copies.”