ABSTRACT

I was born on May 12, 1905, prematurely, in a very small house in the working class quarter of Fratton, Portsmouth, the fourth of five children. My father, who had run away to sea when he was fifteen, had on that date just been promoted Warrant Officer in the Royal Navy; he had already served on the China station, would fight at Jutland under Jellicoe, and in due course retire with the rank and pension of a Commissioned Warrant Officer. My mother, the eldest of four girls, had gone out to work at twelve to help the family budget. Both my parents were eager readers of good books, and brought up their children to be diligent Christians, and to have an appreciation of serious literature.