Brian Thompson was born in Lambeth, London, in 1935. His childhood was divided between Cambridge and Lambeth. Thompson eventually read English at Cambridge, and is also a playwright and biographer.
HIS STORY
To some extent this belongs within the ‘my miserable childhood’ genre, including not only relative poverty but also severe neglect by both parents, who appear to most onlookers to be merely extremely selfish. Yet Brian’s mother is severely depressed and his father cold and distant to the point of sociopathy.
Thompson Senior volunteers for RAF flight duty during WW2 and is obviously away from home most of the time. Meanwhile his wife, in her depression and loneliness, turns to befriending American troops, to local scandal. Some temporarily befriend Brian. Her husband never forgives her, although his own behaviour is far from creditable.
As his mother's illness becomes worse, young Brian is evacuated out of Cambridge and into London, where he sits out the Blitz among his father's various warm and eccentric relatives. Some of the most pleasant episodes occur during such stays with his paternal grandparents in Lambeth, where they run a mechanical repairs and supplies shop, and young Brian is well fed and generally looked after.
At the end of the war, unable to cope with his wife’s erratic behaviour, his father lives and works in London leaving the boy largely alone with a still depressed mother. Despite everything, his parents’ relationship continues, marked by violent arguments, prolonged silences, and incessant bickering at the best of times. Brian takes the brunt of much of their unhappiness, subject to continual sneers and violence. Somehow a baby brother is born, and it becomes obvious, during some uncharacteristic home decorating, that his ex-RAF crew father is colour-blind. As such he would not have passed the entrance examination, and indeed cheerfully admits that he bribed an RAF medic. According to Thompson Senior, who is not a reliable narrator, this was not unusual. For once I am inclined to believe him.
What is striking in this autobiography is the parents’ searing indifference towards Brian, who admits to basically sleepwalking through his childhood, just as his parents sleepwalk through their responsibilities towards him. In mitigation, it is clear that they both had personality problems, which should have received attention. Brian still blames himself partially for not being more help, even though he was only a child at the time. More than once, he sat up with his mother all night, talking her out of suicide, terrified to go to sleep. Hindsight is an exact science; one likes to think that these days the family would get help. At that time many were dealing with the privations of war, shortages, rationing and bereavement, war-related disability etc and their problems may have seemed minimal by comparison.
A lot of the book is taken up with Brian’s success at school, and he is surprised at having to take the 11 plus, which neither he nor his mother are aware of, and he passes into grammar school with bewilderment. This is very much a memoir of adolescence, and the interesting characters he meets, first girlfriends, pretentious mates, and the difficulties of impersonating his idol Robert Mitchum. Some refuge is obtained from the demands of school by hanging out with surly ‘street-corner’ lads,
Later, Thompson Senior, secretly proud to hear Brian is taking ten O-levels, takes it upon himself to coach him carefully through all ten subjects, in a rare spurt of paternal attention for the young Brian. During the Festival of Britain, they both wander the new South Bank, interested to see if anything familiar remains from the bomb damage around Southwark and Lambeth. Very little. By this time Brian realises his father is a gifted man, desperate for admiration, yet whose pretentious and boorish manner alienates everyone.
Brian loves books, jazz and movies. He wins an essay competition in the Sunday Pictorial, the prize is a trip out to London musical ‘South Pacific’ and an evening dress for his girlfriend. For once his mother is genuinely impressed, albeit with her usual cynicism, seeing it as a wonderful example of a mere schoolboy putting one over on the editor of a national newspaper.
Brian is astonished at passing all his O levels but now his father feels he should learn about the real world, securing him a job as a telegram messenger boy, where Brian sees the sorrow of those to whom he has brought bad news. Luckily, the headmaster tries to persuade his father to allow young Brian to return to the sixth form and prepare for entrance to university. Said headmaster, Mr Newton John, was of higher rank in the RAF and so Thompson senior accedes to his demand with as much dignity as he can muster. While they are talking Brian notices his headmaster’s toddler daughter, Olivia.
A GOOD READ?
Yes, the tone of the book is decidedly upbeat; he was obviously a clever boy, if often vague. The book is not remotely sentimental, but perhaps that is hardly surprising given the emotionally barren circumstances in which he grew up. The author carefully reigns in any self-pity. One gets the impression that he's turned out very well indeed, considering. It’s clear he was lucky someone at his secondary school took an interest in him. My edition ends with an epilogue, ie a prologue of the start of the sequel, ‘A Clever Girl, published recently, describing their ill-tempered move to the giddy heights of Waltham Cross, which I look forward to reading.
WHO WOULD ENJOY THIS?
Residents of Cambridge, and/or Lambeth interested in the social history of both. Lovers of auto/biography, especially working class biographies.
PUBLISHER, PRICE ETC.
I read the paperback edition by Atlantic books, 2007, recommended retail price £7.99 - as usual Internet and other outlet prices may vary. First published in hardback in 2006. Thanks for reading.
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