Peter Gamble

An extraordinarily well-written life story. The author grew up in Streatham in the '30s, was a determined conscientious objector during the war, and then after a spell in prison became a coal miner (a 'Bevan Boy'). He was a student at Oxford during the '50s and became an Anglican clergyman holding unorthodox views. Much of his life was spent in education and in the late '60s he set up his own school which collapsed largely because of his expulsion policy over drugs (he was the subject of a powerful BBC documentary at the time). And if all that wasn't enough, the book also contains the constant sub-plot of homosexual affection (including down the Derbyshire coal mines during the war). It has been well-reviewed in some surprising locations, such as The Surrey Advertiser, the Derby Evening Telegraph and the Freethinker . The moral stance of the author during the war remains surprisingly ambiguous to the reader. Those who think the pacifist position was an easy option, will find here some support for their opinion because the author's conversion to Quakerism (respectably pacifist) does not sound sincere (and was abandoned after the war) and his determination not to be inconvenienced by the war will certainly appear haughty. On the other hand, the author could have abandoned his pacifism but kept to it during fire-fighting duty, imprisonment and coal mining, none of which were comfortable options. The fluency with which he writes and the honesty and humour which permeate the text, make for a gripping life story. The author died in 1997.… (mehr)