[Edward Stewart-Humphries was fostered until, at the age of nine, he was asked to choose between his foster and his biological parents when his mother wanted him back. His biological father was a Royal Marine who died in 1903 after a series of strokes. The listening experience follows memories of regular brutal beatings by his father]

On reflection I think it probable that my father was a sick man from the time of his arrival home from Australia. He was, I’m sure, a man of high principles and a God-fearing one, who held firmly to the traits of a strict chapel and Victorian upbringing. One of his favourite songs was:

Little drops of water,

Little grains of sand,

Make the mighty ocean,

And a wondrous land. 

This song gives me a clue to his outlook on life.