Alan Stranks first made his name in Australia in the 1920s as a lyricist, and although he continued his musical career after moving to England, he was more noted as the author of the BBC children's radio series about P.C. 49 ( Archibald Berkeley-Willoughby). The series ran from 1947 to 1953 with books, annuals, a children's club, a board game, a cartoon strip in the children's magazine the Eagle (1950-1957), and two Hammer films The Adventures of PC 49 (1949) and A Case for PC 49 (1951) being produced. Stranks also wrote the lyrics for the soundtrack to the 1945 film Waltz Time.
