David Lean - King of the Epics' Humble Beginning
Director David Lean is one of Croydon's most famous sons and one of the world's most accomplished film directors.
However, his gift for making some of the most acclaimed epics may never have been realised had his parents not banned him from visiting the cinema.
Lean's strict Quaker parents regarded cinemas as 'dens of vice' and forbade their son to visit them.
But far from turning him away from the world of film, his parents' ban only fuelled an obsession which had been growing since early childhood.
David was born to Frank and Helena Lean hi 1908 and the family lived first at 38 Blenheim Crescent and later 3 Warham Road, both in South Croydon.
Ironically, when David first attended kindergarten, run by Miss Clayton at 60 Park Lane, he was labelled as backward and his parents worried their son would never be able to read or write.
Towards the end of the First World War, David joined The Limes prep school hi Melville Avenue, South Croydon.
It was towards the end of his time at The Limes that David was given a Kodak Box Brownie camera for his llth birthday from his Uncle Clement, which is thought to have sparked his interest in cameras and moving pictures.
Image: From Lawrence of Ariabia
In 1921 Frank moved his wife and two sons to a smaller house at 97 Park Lane. It proved to be a year of destiny for David. At the age of 13, David and a friend slipped into the Scala cinema in North End and watched his first film. The Hound of the Baskervilles. For a boy who had never seen moving pictures before, it had a profound and unforgettable effect on him. David's mum knew he secretly visited the cinema but never told his dad and the youngster regularly escaped the confines of his life to lose himself in the world of moving pictures.
He is reported to have said: "I had suddenly discovered life through the movies. Intercut that with Croydon and you have an idea of how exciting it was."
David was educated at Leighton Park School in Reading but returned to the borough in 1926. He did not enjoy his life in Croydon and immersed himself even further in the world of photography, moving pictures and visits to Croydon Airport.
He stayed in the borough until he married his wife Isabel in 1930 and the couple moved to Holland Park, renting a two-room flat. Just a few years later, David started his career in films by working as an editor. He went on to direct some of the most acclaimed films in movie history, including Brief Encounter, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, The Bridge On The River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, Dr Zhivago and A Passage To India. His films won 26 Oscars and he was made a CBE in 1953. David Lean died on April 16, 1991, at his London home aged 83. One of his biggest regrets was that he was never able to persuade his Quaker father to see one of his films.
With thanks to the David Lean Foundation for its assistance with this article.