Oliver's father died after an unfortunate accident on a ship leaving Aden in 1942. His mother then had a liason with a man who was unwilling to raise Oliver and his brother, Thomas, as his own so his mother arranged for the boys to go to Vanbrugh Castle.
Like most of the new arrivals at the school they found it a great shock, especially under the regime of Captain Slimming. Oliver was a bit of a rebellious lad and got into trouble as a result. He was one of the courageous boys who ran away from the school. Later on when things became more tolerable he joined the fishing club and was allowed to go out for the day unsupervised - a rare treat.
He left Vanbrugh to joint the RAF Cadets. However this didn't suit him and after a few months he was allowed to leave and later on trained to be a plasterer - a trade he pursued for some time.
Later he became a policeman and served for 15 years. After that went into the wines & spirits trade becoming a successful regional manager. Oliver suffered a stroke at the early age of 61 and died in 2011 aged 71.