I think it was this curiosity about the natural world which awoke my early interest in science.

It has been a privilege to pursue knowledge for its own sake and to see how it might help mankind in more practical ways.

I had a great time investigating the pigments of different mutant fruit flies by following experimental protocols published in Scientific American, and I also remember making my own beetle collection when it was still acceptable to make such collections.

I think it was this curiosity about the natural world which awoke my early interest in science.

At age 11 in 1960, I moved to an academic state secondary school, Harrow County Grammar School for Boys.

My parents were born in Norfolk and spent their early years working in the big houses of that rural English county, my mother as a cook and my father as a handyman and chauffeur.

I was by far the youngest of the family, and at times it was like being an only child.