Paul, Lanarkian by birth, was educated at Lanark Primary School, then Lanark Grammar School, before going to Newcastle Polytechnic.

In 1973 he started work with Lanarkshire County Libraries in the County Library Headquarters Accession Department.

He transferred to Lanark (later Clydesdale) District Council in 1975; worked in branch libraries for several years, then worked on mobile libraries for 13 years. Paul later moved back to Lanark Library and worked in Reference, Genealogy, Local History and IT. He retired in 2019.

Paul became a trustee of Lanark Museum in 1990 and is currently the Chair.

Paul's interests are gardening, reading, photography, building computers, researching and writing on local history.