Gordon Pound was born in rural Oxfordshire into a farming family and enjoyed the benefits of country living during the dark days of WW2 and post-war austerity. Later he boarded at a grammar school that was founded in 1571 and appeared to retain the original plumbing and some of the original masters.

Subsequently, he attended Seale-Hayne Agricultural College, graduating just in time to be conscripted into the Army, where he obtained a short service commission. Following that service, finding that he enjoyed army life, he transferred to the Australian Army, where he served in various capacities at locations throughout Australia and Asia.

Retiring after 20 years soldiering and anxious to resume a rural life style, he convinced his family that moving to a ramshackle farmhouse on a rundown farm in Tasmania would be a good idea. How the enterprise worked out is what this tale is all about.