 When Wheeler was four , his father was appointed chief leader writer for the Bradford Observer . The family relocated to <unk> , a village northwest of Bradford , a cosmopolitan city in Yorkshire , northeast England , which was then in the midst of the wool trade boom . Wheeler was inspired by the <unk> surrounding <unk> and fascinated by the area 's archaeology . He later wrote about discovering a late prehistoric cup @-@ marked stone , searching for <unk> on <unk> Moor , and digging into a barrow on <unk> Moor . Although suffering from ill health , Emily Wheeler taught her two children with the help of a maid up to the age of seven or eight . Mortimer remained emotionally distant from his mother , instead being far closer to his father , whose company he favoured over that of other children . His father had a keen interest in natural history and a love of fishing and shooting , rural <unk> in which he encouraged Mortimer to take part . Robert acquired many books for his son , particularly on the subject of art history , with Wheeler loving to both read and paint . 
