John Clarke

A Brackley Childhood John Clarke

John Clarke is the author of three books on the history of Brackley. Now his work takes on a more personal aspect as he describes his own childhood in the Brackley of the 1950s and early 1960s. His father, Charles Clarke, was a Booking Clerk at Brackley's 'Top' station and John introduces us to some of the characters -- station masters, signalmen and others -- who worked there. He also describes to us to of some of the most interesting people in the town -- doctors, shopkeepers, teachers and so on. We go with John through his education at Brackley Junior School and then at Magdalen College School, together with his piano lessons with Miss Judd. John has much to say about the Church, perhaps the most important institution in his early life, He examines the attributes, values and prejudices of 1950s Brackley, making us realise how much things have changed in the last 60 years. All of this is set against the background of John's relationship with his parents and grandparents, so this book, which includes over 80 photographs (many previously unpublished), gives us a unique insight into the Brackley that once was.