Macdonald Critchley (1900–1997)

Excerpt

Macdonald Critchley was born in Bristol on the 2nd of February, 1900. His parents were solidly middle class. At the age of fifteen, as a great lover of history and of French, English, German and Latin [1], Critchley had all the requirements to enter Bristol University [2]. However, he was only allowed entry at seventeen and he spent the interval learning Greek, frequently traveling forty miles a day to attend the classes [3]. Always encouraged by his mother to broaden his cultural interests, he soon became the founder, author and illustrator of the school magazine, which he often distributed himself [3]. He was attracted by the idea of being a cardinal, enamoured of dramatics, and in love with medicine. During his first University year he was fascinated by zoology, and after reading Tolstoy and Dostoevsky he planned to join the Russian Air Force as well as to attend night classes to learn Russian [3]; only the latter plan materialised. He then served in the First World War, signing up under age with the cadet battalion of the Royal Air Force and the Infantry of the Wiltshire Regiment in Dublin, where he often got involved in ceremonial tasks. Back to medical studies, his nimble mind was further fed by many extracurricular activities, including the theatre [3]. …