Nab End and Beyond: The Road to Nab End and Beyond Nab End

Nab End #1-2

by William Woodruff

>This omnibus edition comprises William Woodruff's two volumes of autobiography, The Road to Nab End and Beyond Nab End. Born on a pallet of straw at the back of the mill, William faced a tough life in 1920s Blackburn. At 16 he left the poverty of Blackburn for London, where he found no streets paved with gold, but instead filthy tenements and squalor. He eventually makes it to Plater College, in Oxford, and witnesses the courage of ordinary people in the face of war—a war in which he himself will soon be fighting.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

724 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

William Woodruff was born in 1916 into a family of Blackburn, Lancashire cotton workers. At 13 he left school and became a delivery boy in a grocer's shop. In 1933, with bleak prospects in the north of England, he decided to try his luck in London and migrated to the filth and squalor of the East End. Then in 1936 with the encouragement of a Jesuit priest and the aid of a London County Council Scholarship he went to Balliol College, Oxford. There he became an idealistic undergraduate who mingled with George Woodcock and Harold Wilson. During the Second World War he fought in North Africa and the Mediterranean region as a major and then a colonel. All these experiences formed the basis of a series of memoirs, including The Road to Nab End, originally published as Billy Boy, and Beyond Nab End, which emerged only years later.

After the war, he turned down the chance of a political career in favour of academia. He was lured to Harvard on a scholarship and remained in America teaching economic history in Illinois, Princeton and Florida, until he was 80. 61 published titles - hardbacks, softbacks and translations - bear his name.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was offered this book by my friend Roman who thought I might enjoy it. It's two books really, but in its 721 pages I never once wanted to stop reading.

It starts with the author's childhood in Blackburn, Lancashire and he speaks of a destitution and hardship that I could barely imagine. He also speaks of his own innermost thoughts: of family, of people, of religion and of politics. It is both a miracle and a credit to his own self-determination and his unquestionable intellect that he, a boy with little or no schooling, could find himself being accepted into Oxford University, first as a working class diploma student and then as a proper student at Oxford itself, earning a University Degree.

He appeared to have been blessed in his Oxford years as a sponsored scholar, working harder than he ever worked in mill or foundry, and reaping the rewards of travel and study in Europe. No one could have begrudged him these things. He appears at all times to have been grateful for these things that came his way, if not downright embarrassed. He studied all forms of social politics that were the popular thinking of the day, taking it all in and yet not finally convinced by any of them that they had the 'right' solution to the problems of mankind. Following his years in the army during WWII, he came to the conclusion that a public life in politics was not for him. He became instead an internationally known historian and a professor at various universities.

I was born post-war in 1950 and having grown up in the dominantly working class of Sydney's west, the content of this book: abject poverty, hardship, politics and war, were completely alien to me. I feel in some respects that my education of these worldly matters has been neglected and I thank Roman for opening my eyes to another world; Beyond Nab End, so as to speak.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great autobiography - just shows ordinary peoples lives can be just as interesting to read about as famous ones. it made me think alot about what life would have been like for my poor grandparents, struggling to make ends meet. Working class values. The class system in general. The value of learning and education. The gumption to do an honest days work and work hard. The drive to make something of yourself and to make a difference. The politics of the time. The frightening feeling of impending war - My Father would have been about 10, imagine war breaking out. Pretty scary. Woodruff is a great writer and a likeable person with a great story to tell. I enjoyed it far more than i expected to.

[Ann Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read, a personal history of the journey from poverty in 1920s Lancashire to self-motivated education, hard won, service during WW11, through to eventual peace. A great book of history from one man's point of view

[Roy Higgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was of particular interest to me as I am familiar with the locations used in this well written autobiography.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really started to read this book years ago, but only did a few pages. Then in May or June this year picked it up again. I logged this on Goodreads as starting the book then, but realise in August that I had put the wrong book! This is two books really, and I had put just the Nab End...a book of half the pages..so changed it to this book...which is 721 pages and I have the hardback copy. I originally bought this book for my Father, who was born in 1921 near to Blackburn. I thought he would relate to it, having worked in our local Cotton Mill Sadly he developed Dementia and didn't finish the book. As I also come from between Blackburn and Preston, I was very interested, especially as my own family worked in Cotton Mills and there was one in our village too. I couldn't put the book down. In fact I never once wanted to stop reading it and wanted it go on and on! I suppose an Autobiography has to end somewhere! It ended up being the end of the 2nd World War. It is a wonderful story of rags to riches in a sense, however the riches being his education and moving around, from Blackburn to Poverty in London, attending Night School there and finally attending Further Education in Oxford. Later his travels took him abroad to Belgium and Germany. I love the local history of Lancashire in this book and the dramatic change in living standards over his life. I love the world history of the period and how it was in the outbreak of war. Sharing his romance at the declaration of WW2 really hit this home to me. The contrast between his humble beginning in Blackburn and University life at Balliol College at Oxford is vast, a complete different way of life. All manual work and hardship financially in his early life and comfortable living and no manual but academic work and play before he goes to War. This is a book I could read again, it is long but he kept my interest. I liked his writing style and marvelled what he achieved! I always wanted to know how his life would improve, what else he could attain etc. He had a goal to be a Member of Parliament which probably seemed an impossible dream to some people. He never did become one, but something better. People along the way were kind to him, helping him to achieve and they must have seen the potential in him. I suppose I enjoy real life stories more than fiction. I loved this book.