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.

我是一名大學(xué)“后進(jìn)生”。到74歲了，我才入學(xué)，上周才剛剛畢業(yè)。在78歲，我攻下倫敦大學(xué)伯克貝克學(xué)院的歷史學(xué)文學(xué)士學(xué)位。

我成長在戰(zhàn)時(shí)的英國，我的教育徹底被戰(zhàn)爭所耽誤。孩提時(shí)代我曾遭遇兩次撤離：一次是在我五歲時(shí)，時(shí)值二戰(zhàn)爆發(fā)；第二次則是在1940年，我被送往蘭開夏郡住了兩年。

15歲的時(shí)候，我輟學(xué)了，當(dāng)時(shí)我已輪換了11所不同的學(xué)校。在一個(gè)班級里通常會有60個(gè)孩子。如果你被認(rèn)為資質(zhì)聰穎，你就能坐在前排。然后是中間位置，再次就是后排。而我則常常坐在后排。

戰(zhàn)后，我當(dāng)了42年的出租車司機(jī)，總是很介懷自己未受過什么教育。所以我在有專供夜間課程的伯克貝克學(xué)院注冊入學(xué)。

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.

不久我便意識到想要彌補(bǔ)我在孩提時(shí)錯(cuò)失的教育并非易事。第一堂課我就只字未懂。我喜愛歷史，并常常閱讀許多歷史書籍，卻從未正規(guī)學(xué)習(xí)研究過。

我不曉得參考文獻(xiàn)或歷史編纂學(xué)是什么東西，也不知道如何去做相關(guān)背景研究或者全面闡釋——這對我來說是一個(gè)全新的領(lǐng)域。

在導(dǎo)師們的支持下，我開始把握到這學(xué)科的要領(lǐng)，也知道學(xué)術(shù)研究是怎么一回事了。導(dǎo)師們盡職地給予我指導(dǎo)。當(dāng)我?guī)е蓱]參加了三周課程后，我的研討會導(dǎo)師告訴我：“不管怎樣，你都會拿到這個(gè)文學(xué)士學(xué)位的。如果有任何困難，你都可以來見我?！逼渌瑢W(xué)也都在幫助我堅(jiān)持。同學(xué)們大都正值二十多歲，其中有一個(gè)女同學(xué)六十多歲——平均年齡大概在40歲左右。他們?nèi)际譄崆椴⒊０l(fā)電郵聯(lián)系。下課后，我們會去酒吧里喝一杯。他們給予我很多幫助。

這從來都不是一段輕松的旅程，能體驗(yàn)學(xué)生生活，我覺得是種恩賜。自我踏入學(xué)院大門的那一刻起，我便開始微笑，而人們也報(bào)之以微笑。我覺得大家——導(dǎo)師們、信息技術(shù)員工、圖書管理員、搬運(yùn)工人和食堂工作人員——全部都在支持我，這給了我相當(dāng)大的幫助。

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.

我的家人是另一個(gè)支持和鼓勵(lì)的源泉。我的妻子卡羅爾撇開了所有的事情來助我拿到學(xué)位。她讓我霸占了餐室，那里堆滿了我的書、文章還有筆記。

發(fā)現(xiàn)自己通過了學(xué)位考試的那天，我百感交集。你絕對不會確信自己就要做到了——直到你通過了最后的考試。當(dāng)我盯著電腦屏幕上的結(jié)果時(shí)，我把卡羅爾叫進(jìn)來，我們抱頭痛哭。難以置信！

我正打算買套學(xué)位服，這樣第二年我去新西蘭拜訪兒子們的時(shí)候，我就能穿著學(xué)位服和他們一起合照了。在畢業(yè)典禮的前三天，當(dāng)我應(yīng)聲打開前門發(fā)現(xiàn)兒子們就站在門口時(shí)，我?guī)缀醣徽痼@吞沒了。他們?yōu)榱宋颐孛艿貜男挛魈m特地趕回來參加我的畢業(yè)典禮。

上周的畢業(yè)典禮是我生命中最為驕傲的時(shí)刻。我的妻子、我的兩個(gè)兒子、我的同學(xué)和導(dǎo)師們都在那里與我一同分享那一刻。當(dāng)我聽到我的名字被宣讀時(shí)，我可以拍著胸脯說我真的實(shí)現(xiàn)了畢生的愿望。