Memories From Fulham

About the Book

I was born in Chelsea in London of Irish parents. I remember very little before my fourth birthday. Just after that we moved to Fulham, a borough adjacent to Chelsea.

The earliest cultural inputs are described and commented upon: comics (Wilson of The Wizard, an early example of a back-to-nature man), books, like Coral Island, Fulham Public Library, Tarzan (a member of the House of Lords!), war time radio programmes. I loved radio comedy and Pantomime. Much of this is described in detail continuing long after the war with the decline of Music hall, captured in Osborne´s play, The Entertainer which I compare with Pinero´s Trelawny of the Wells. My early cinema experiences are described. My expulsion from a Boy Scout troop for religious reasons is touched upon.

I lived in London throughout the Second World War. I remember being frightened when air raids were sounded, of seeing bombed houses in the street where we lived, of noticing empty spaces at School due to boys and girls having being killed. I recall a shop which always had pictures of dead Russian soldiers. Later it became the headquarters of a small religious group. I reflect upon the capacity of human beings to believe religious leaders.

I pass my Scholarship Examination and go to a Catholic Grammar School in Battersea. This is described with affection, particularly the masters. There are many visits to Chelsea and Fulham Football Clubs. Doing the equivalent of O-level I see my first Shakespeare play and read my first George Eliot novel. Both overwhelm me. At 16 I decide to study Science in the Sixth Form. That summer my favourite teacher leaves the religious order. I recognise my religious doubts. Do any of the priests at school ever have them? There follows a long discussion of religion: Virgin Birth, Papal Infallibility, St Augustine´s idea of the transmission of original sin, and Retreats at School (much less severe than in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man). I was an enthusiastic cyclist, a fan of Reg Harris, an Olympic Gold medallist in 1948. I visited a relative in the countryside, my first experience of non-city dwelling. Goldsmith, Gray, Crabbe, and Akenfield are discussed. I hate the rich life associated with large Country Houses side by side with the miserable life of most country labourers.

I love Fulham where I grew up. It is described in detail: the green spaces like Parsons Green where Katherine of Aragon lived after her divorce, as did Mrs Jordan and Mrs Fitzherbert in the Nineteenth Century, Eelbrook Common, once the home of otters, South and Bishop Parks. I was excited as a child to find rivers like the Wandle which rises in Croydon. Part of it was called the Nile by Lady Hamilton through whose estate it flowed. Hammersmith (News from Nowhere by William Morris comes to mind), Wimbledon Common (where there were newts which I associate with Wodehouse´s Gussy Finknottle), and the Underground and Main Line Stations full of steam, are lovingly recalled. Discovering the Museums at South Kensington is fully described. Their decline under Mrs Thatcher is criticised. I visit Rome with a School Party.

I join the Labour Party in 1950. My father, who grew up in Dublin, would have been about my age during the 1916 uprising. The earlier actions of Cromwell in Ireland are described, in particular his intense religious fervour is killing catholics: "At least Hitler never spoke like that." My own reasons for joining are based upon relishing equality. There is a lengthy description of national politics at that time and also of what went on in Fulham. I am a member of the League of Youth. I visit a slum. I recall Orwell´s description of the smell of a slum. We have weekly meetings full of debate and discussion. We visit Art Galleries and the theatre, and see operas. I devour books, an activity I have never let up on. I end up loving Joyce, Faul

About the Author

John Scully spent his life as a University Teacher of Metallurgy at the University of Leeds after leaving the University of Cambridge and working in the U.S.A. He is an expert on the Corrosion of Metals. His early rejection of Catholicism made him hostile to organised religion. He has been a member of the Labour Party all his life. He has a life-long love of books, music and theatre. He has always pursued these leisure activities very seriously. Since his retirement from academic life these activities and the writing of books now take up all his time.