 Kneale was born Thomas Nigel Kneale in Barrow @-@ in @-@ Furness , England . His family came from the Isle of Man , and returned to live there in 1928 , when Kneale was six years old . He was raised in the island 's capital , Douglas , where his father was the owner and editor of the local newspaper , The Herald . He was educated at St Ninian 's High School , Douglas , and after leaving studied law , training to become an advocate at the Manx Bar . He also worked in a lawyer 's office , but became bored with his legal training and eventually abandoned the profession . At the beginning of the Second World War Kneale attempted to enlist in the British Army , but was deemed medically unfit for service owing to photophobia , from which he had suffered since childhood . 
