ENOCH POWELL

BACKGROUND

Early years

Powell was born and raised in Birmingham, the son of two schoolteachers. His formidable intelligence was apparent early on. From King Edward's School, Birmingham he completed his education at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he obtained a double first and fell under the powerful influence of A. E. Housman. He was later appointed Professor of Greek at Sydney University aged 25. Amongst his pupils was the future Prime Minister of Australia Gough Whitlam. His edition of Thucydides' Historia for the Oxford University Press published in 1938 remains the standard Oxford Classical Text for that author.

As well as his education at Cambridge, Powell took a course in Urdu at the School of Oriental Studies, now the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, in a bid to further his chances of being appointed Viceroy of India.

While Powell was in Australia as a Professor he grew increasingly angry at the appeasement of Germany and what he saw as a betrayal of British national interests. In a letter to his parents in June 1939 before the outbreak of war, Powell wrote:

"It is the English, not their Government; for if they were not blind cowards, they would lynch Chamberlain and Halifax and all the other smarmy traitors".

Upon the immediate outbreak of war Powell returned to England, although not before buying a Russian dictionary because Powell thought 'Russia would hold the key to our survival and victory, as it had in 1812 and 1916'.

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