Archery was genuinely a passion of James Whale's, as he revealed in his 2007 autobiography "Almost A Celebrity" that he was named Surrey's under-sixteen junior champion in 1965.
James recalled: "From the age of eleven until I left school, I spent every available moment at the archery club, going to tournaments and honing my newly acquired skills and passion. Academic achievement at school became irrelevant to me, just as everything else did when I had a bow in my hand. I was able to concentrate purely on archery. I was in a world of my own when I was practising or competing, and I loved every minute of it."