It was Korean War time. The Draft Board was approaching my name! My father, who was a successful businessman and knew many executives in Fort Wayne decided that he did not want his son to be drafted. To encourage college and university students, the draft board waived the draft choice if they were in higher education. Immediate, my father pulled me out of Culver  and I found my self entered into Colgate University in Hamilton NY. I was distressed because I loved Culver and I had just been elected into the senior Cadet Club. With this honur came a beautiful shoulder patch and a private clubroom in the Student activities building. I remember being thrilled as I entered the room for the first time and saw a Wilton{?} carpet with the Club patch woven into a deep blue background. Sadly I only  entered the room a few times. Instead, I was chosen to be a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity at Colgate. During our first year we had to do silly things like paint the names of everyone in the fraternity on a rock face in the freezing cold and smoke a cigarillo at lunchtime {I was a non smoker}. My college career began with an interview with the Dean who looked at my records and said ‘You needn’t work too hard. You’ll get through’. This made me angry [probably because I had always been told that I was very capable  and should do well.  I studied English Literature and French…and many more subjects. I graduated in 1951- and went immediately into the US Air Force [this was a condition of my draft board–two years military service after graduation.] Many happenings for me at Colgate. I was asked to join The Colgate Thirteen, a three quartet plus a leader singing group. We travelled in three cars all over the east–New York  and West to Chicago. Our job was to sing concerts at high schools as an advertisement for the students to come to Colgate. It was great fun. But the best part of the trips came in the evenings when we were at universities and women students used to join us in a pub for a few beers. We proudly wore maroon jackets with a Colgate 13 patch on the breast pocket. We sat in a quiet group around a pub table. At some point the leader took out his pitch pipe, gave each part their starting note  Then we started singing very softly. As people in the pub began to notice our singing we increased the volume, our rhythm and our enthusiasm. Bottles of beer began to appear out of nowhere. The Colgate 13 made a recording with our picture on the jacket. Because Colgate was a men’s university [then] we had to drive several hundred miles East to Vassar, Holy Oak  and other women’s universities for weekend pleasures.

So, I went to San Antonio, Texas and Randolph Air Base–the best place to train pilots because there were 300 flying days each year. I was a lieutenant and flew a desk for two years {because I had poor eyesight for flying}.  Because I was caught up in the academic career race to get higher qualifications I applied to Chicago University for post graduate study. It was one of the best academic universities at the time in North America. What a presumptioiu attempt. Surprised that I was accepted I left the US Air Force and entered a dormitory in South Chicago. I was a member of the Humanities Committee–an interdeoartments=al study group which included pphilophosy, litersture, language{French for me} Art and Music. My professor was Dr Maclean who specialised in Literary Criticism [and who also wrote a book entitled ‘The River Runs Through {which was later made into a film}. He had a facial grimace or a  twich but he was very real even though his lectures seemed unreal. He said ‘All, grimace, grimace, Just go to Montana and get yourself a mice grimace  a good teaching job in a small college’. He was right, but I didn’t! Chicago was very exciting and stimulating both on campus and in nearby Chicago town. I had a French seminar with Marc Chagall who was in town.  I frequently visited the Chicago Art Museum to see the Haystacks of Manet and I went to a Swedish  where in a small mock theatre where a small puppet orchestra rose up and played the overture to the opera and then puppets operated from under the floor sang the operas to the recordings  by famous singers.

After I received my MA from Chicago I could not stop. {no Phd yet} My next port of call was Cornell University in New York State. I spent one year in Carnell and then moved again to the State University of Iowa to continue my post graduate studies–by this time in the 17th century. Briefly, may I say that I had an inspirational professor, Dt Zuberi. He would walk onto the stage, put his armload of note on the rostrum, open the notes and speak for two hours without looking at the notes or turn the pages. One day he said to me ‘Mr Jacobs, the best place to finish your Phd is in England where the literary sources are located.’ Off I went!

As an American in London I marched up the Strand to Kings College, a most prodigious college in the University of London. Knocked on the door and said ‘Here I am. When do I start?’ ‘Mr Jacobs, we don’t have any places and besides we have started our teaching already. However, I suggest that you go up past Senate House to a small college called Birkbeck.’ Which I did!