
:author: D Haynes
:date: 2020-01-15

Ray Farington
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Born in 1928 in Oxfordshire, Ray was the only son of tenant farmers.

He had a robust, rural upbringing, getting up early to help his
mother and father around the farm before walking to the village school.

He was loved as a child, but was frequently left to his own devices.
When he wasn't farming, hunting or riding, he would read books voraciously.
He became content in his own company, and did not much play with friends.

He showed academic ability from an early age, and attended the local
Grammar School. He had an aptitude for languages, and did well in exams.

His family could not afford to send him to University. After trying to fit in
to life on the farm for a while, Ray shocked his parents by enlisting as a
junior officer in the British Army.

He was posted in 1952 to Malaya. He was attached very quickly to the
Malaysian Special Branch of police. An instinct for close observation, combined
with his physical vitality, made him a valuable asset, and he was soon promoted
to the rank of Captain.

Ray contributed to Army doctrine by creating a motto of the 3 P's; that is,
Patience, Persistence and Precision. This sat well with the leadership at the
time, who were learning the value of regular patrolling to track the passage
of the insurgent enemy.

Ray would regularly lead jungle patrols, in a 4-man formation which was new
to the Army at the time. He saw contact with the enemy on several occasions.
He was decorated for his conduct in defending an outpost at Kuala Medang, when
it came under a sustained ambush.

While his brother officers were busy seeking promotion to headquarters, Ray
had been neglecting his career in order to remain in the field. Over time, the
MSB began recruiting from the local talent, and Ray's role diminished.

On return to the UK, Ray met and quickly married his wife Maria, and they soon
had a daughter, Francesca. But he had failed to make the right professional
connections, and the pressure of family life precipitated his leaving the Army.

Ray's parents were not prospering, either physically or financially, and he
felt compelled to get a safe job to bring in some steady money. So began his
career as a Prison Officer, where his talents were sometimes recognised, and
sometimes not.

When we meet Ray he is 50 years old and about to retire on a pension.
Both parents now dead, and his daughter grown up, he suspects that domestic
harmony alone with Maria is an unlikely prospect.

The Governor of HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs, impressed and admiring of Ray, helps
him sign up as a Special Constable, with the recommendation that he be allowed
a wide remit to follow his nose...


Add character background for Ray.
Add character background for Ray.
