“My Life’s Adventures”

About the Book

This book deals with situations of living through the German occupation of Norway from 1940, including shortages of food and heat, all under a threatening occupation by the Hitlerite German Army. My father was imprisoned in Germany for five years while we survived without his strength and abilities. At eleven years old, I escaped imprisonment or death when caught by a German soldier in the wrong place. The story moves to a totally different environment in Nigeria, with another culture that was about to be changed by the removal of British control. This gives a picture of the beginning of large changes. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip attended the liberation ceremony in Benin. This book also includes a number of images of the life of the African and English cultures. This includes the problems of living with noxious tropical diseases and pests. Bernard returned to Britain to continue work and studies but, unfortunately, developed a serious disease, cerebral vasculitis, that they did not think he would survive. Fortunately, he has and is still active.

About the Author

Bernard Tinker was born in 1930, in Lancashire and moved with his family to Norway in 1940. There they lived through the German occupation until the end of the war. His father, (a Cotton Mill manager) was imprisoned by the Germans for 5 years and his family lived without his help and support. They suffered many hardships including shortages of food, heat and clothing. At eleven years old he was caught by a German soldier in a forbidden area, and could easily have been shot. Following his return to England he was educated as a soil scientist and chemist and was awarded a PhD from Oxford University for his research. He then worked for the British Government in the Colonial Scientific Service in Nigeria on the improvement of Oil Palms for 7 years. Bernard’s book describes many facets of the British life in Nigeria under the British influence and the problems of the diseases and pests in this tropical country. He suffered from River Blindness in Nigeria, but was finally cured. Upon his return to England he held academic positions at the University of Leeds and Rothamsted Research Station and was finally a Director of the National Environment Research Council (NERC). He has made significant contributions to our understanding of Soil Science and the Oil Palm and has published more than 175 scientific papers and made a major contribution to the production of the Oil Palm in several tropical countries. Following retirement he developed a serious disease called ‘Cerebral Vasculitis’ that was expected to be fatal, but he survived and is still active and lives in Oxfordshire.