Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2010 | Page 41

interview

Island Life - August/September 2010
“There was no electricity
no hot water, no inside
toilet, but a fantastic life,
and an adventure in itself,”
he smiled. “The nearest
neighbours were two miles
away, and I had to walk
through woods to get the bus
to and from school.
“The woods were my den,
in the middle of an estate
owned by Lord Camden. He
married a woman about 30
years his junior, and he took
professional advice on how
to protect the estate, because
he expected to die before her.
“One day when I was about
15 I came home from school
and some of the mature trees
on the 3,000 acre estate
had been cut down. My play
ground was being decimated.
My dad explained they had
been chopped down to pay
what in those days were
called death duties.
“Lord Camden’s wife had

Despite being good at maths, he went into

suddenly died, and because of the way

farming after leaving school. He continued: