XFORD
in the autumn of 1919 saw the arrival of
Neville Bradshaw, now aged 23. One can imagine his excitement and
pleasure as he made his way from the railway station to Merton
College, booking in at the porter's lodge, being shown to his
rooms and meeting his fellow students. After a difficult start in
life he had made his way to a place that as a schoolboy had
seemed completely beyond his reach. He must have wondered if it
was just a dream.
As he had already spent a year at Birmingham University and passed the Intermediate examination he was spared the indignity of sitting the Preliminary Examination. So apart from his college exams he had no University exams until his Finals. He had been credited one year on account of his war service and could have taken his Finals after two years but, so it seems, he chose to take the full three years. Presumably he was in no hurry to leave!
Our Oxford mole, Geoff Brooker, has inquired of the Merton archivist if there are any significant details of Neville's activities during those three years but there is not a lot on the official record. In fact the only thing that appears is that he was awarded a Commoner's Prize in 1921. There may well be other information in college magazines of the period but we have no access to them.
Given NRB's interest in amateur dramatics and the proliferation of drama societies in the undergraduate community it seems very likely that he would have found a niche for his acting talents. It would have been great to have had a photo of him on stage but much to our regret we have not been able to find anything. Perhaps some researcher with more persistence than mine will find something in the future.
In 1922 he took his Finals in History and was awarded his B.A. 2nd Class Honours (a 2[1] in today's parlance). He then, like most, came to earth with a bump and realised that he was 26 and had to earn a living and make something of his life.