I was a late arrival to university. I didnt 1）enroll until my 74th year， and wasnt to graduate until last week. At 78， I finished a 2）BA in history at 3）Birkbeck， University of London.

I grew up in wartime Britain and my education was completely destroyed by the war. I was 4）evacuated twice as a child—once， aged five， when World War two broke out， and a second time in 1940， when I was sent to 5）Lancashire for two years.

By the time I left school， aged 15， I had been to 11 different schools. There were sometimes 60 children in a class. If you were seen to be highly able， you sat at the front. Then there was the middle， then the back. I usually sat at the back.

After the war， I worked as a black cab driver for 42 years， but always felt very conscious that I hadnt received an education. So I enrolled at Birkbeck， which specialises in evening classes.

我是一名大学“后进生”。到74岁了，我才入学，上周才刚刚毕业。在78岁，我攻下伦敦大学伯克贝克学院的历史学文学士学位。

我成长在战时的英国，我的教育彻底被战争所耽误。孩提时代我曾遭遇两次撤离：一次是在我五岁时，时值二战爆发；第二次则是在1940年，我被送往兰开夏郡住了两年。

15岁的时候，我辍学了，当时我已轮换了11所不同的学校。在一个班级里通常会有60个孩子。如果你被认为资质聪颖，你就能坐在前排。然后是中间位置，再次就是后排。而我则常常坐在后排。

战后，我当了42年的出租车司机，总是很介怀自己未受过什么教育。所以我在有专供夜间课程的伯克贝克学院注册入学。

I soon realised that catching up on the education I had missed as a child wouldnt be easy. I didnt understand a word of my first lecture. Id always liked history， and read lots of history books， but had never studied it academically.

I didnt know what a 6）bibliography or 7）historiography was， or how to contextualise or overarch—it was a foreign field to me.

With the support of my tutors， I began to 8）come to grips with the subject， and with academic study. The tutors were able to guide me. When I had doubts three weeks into the course， my seminar tutor told me： “You will get this BA， no matter what. Any problems， you come and see me.” The other students also helped to carry me through. There were students in their 20s， one in her 60s—the average age was probably around 40. They were all so welcoming and always kept in contact by email. After lectures， wed go to the bar for a drink. They helped me a lot.

It hasnt been an easy journey， but I feel 9）privileged to have experienced student life. From the moment I walked through the college doors I was smiling， and people smiled back. I felt that everyone—the tutors， the IT staff， the librarians， the porters and the canteen staff—were all supporting me and it gave me such a lift.

不久我便意识到想要弥补我在孩提时错失的教育并非易事。第一堂课我就只字未懂。我喜爱历史，并常常阅读许多历史书籍，却从未正规学习研究过。

我不晓得参考文献或历史编纂学是什么东西，也不知道如何去做相关背景研究或者全面阐释——这对我来说是一个全新的领域。

在导师们的支持下，我开始把握到这学科的要领，也知道学术研究是怎么一回事了。导师们尽职地给予我指导。当我带着疑虑参加了三周课程后，我的研讨会导师告诉我：“不管怎样，你都会拿到这个文学士学位的。如果有任何困难，你都可以来见我。”其他同学也都在帮助我坚持。同学们大都正值二十多岁，其中有一个女同学六十多岁——平均年龄大概在40岁左右。他们全都十分热情并常发电邮联系。下课后，我们会去酒吧里喝一杯。他们给予我很多帮助。

这从来都不是一段轻松的旅程，能体验学生生活，我觉得是种恩赐。自我踏入学院大门的那一刻起，我便开始微笑，而人们也报之以微笑。我觉得大家——导师们、信息技术员工、图书管理员、搬运工人和食堂工作人员——全部都在支持我，这给了我相当大的帮助。

My family was another source of support and encouragement. My wife Carole put aside everything to help me get my degree. She let me have the dining room， which I covered with books and articles and notes.

The day I found out Id passed my degree was full of emotion. You can never be sure that youre going to make it—not until youve made it through the last exam. When I saw the results on my computer screen， I called Carole in and we both cried. I couldnt believe it.

Id planned to buy my 10）cap and gown， so that when I go to New Zealand next year to visit my sons I could wear them and have my photo taken with them. I nearly keeled over in shock when， three days before the graduation ceremony， I answered the front door to find my sons standing there. They had secretly arranged to come over from New Zealand for the ceremony.

The graduation ceremony last week was the proudest moment of my life. My wife， my two sons， my classmates and my tutors were all there to share the moment with me. When I heard my name read out， I was able to say that I truly had fulfilled a lifetime ambition.

我的家人是另一个支持和鼓励的源泉。我的妻子卡罗尔撇开了所有的事情来助我拿到学位。她让我霸占了餐室，那里堆满了我的书、文章还有笔记。

发现自己通过了学位考试的那天，我百感交集。你绝对不会确信自己就要做到了——直到你通过了最后的考试。当我盯着电脑屏幕上的结果时，我把卡罗尔叫进来，我们抱头痛哭。难以置信！

我正打算买套学位服，这样第二年我去新西兰拜访儿子们的时候，我就能穿着学位服和他们一起合照了。在毕业典礼的前三天，当我应声打开前门发现儿子们就站在门口时，我几乎被震惊吞没了。他们为了我秘密地从新西兰特地赶回来参加我的毕业典礼。

上周的毕业典礼是我生命中最为骄傲的时刻。我的妻子、我的两个儿子、我的同学和导师们都在那里与我一同分享那一刻。当我听到我的名字被宣读时，我可以拍着胸脯说我真的实现了毕生的愿望。