Biography | Philip Brennan

Biography

Brennan was born in Tidworth, Hampshire on the 6^th

of June 1974. His Father was a Corporal in the Royal Corps of

Engineers, and throughout his early life Philip moved around Europe as

his father took on various postings and Tours of Duty.</font></p>

<p align="justify"><font color="#000000">In

1976 Philip moved to Halstembeck in Germany, near to the town of

Padaborn. He spent three very happy years there as a young child, and

by the time he left Germany he was as fluent as any native six year old

in German. Unfortunately, he has forgotten the knowledge of the vast

majority of the language, which pains him no end. He has to look up the

lyrics of Rammstein songs in order to get their precise meaning...</font></p>

<p align="justify"><font color="#000000">In

1980 he moved to Antrim Town in Northern Ireland, and to be quite

honest he hated the place. Also, it was the height of the Troubles in

Ulster, and for about three months during their time there his father

had to keep his SLR at home because of a PIRA threat made against the

families of British Soldiers living in Ulster.</font></p>

<p align="justify"><font color="#000000">In

1982 the family returned to England just before Philip's father was

sent off to the Falkland Islands to kick the Argentinians off British

Sovereign Territory. It was a particularly stressful time for the

family, especially Philip's mother and older sister, and Philip did not

help matters much by constantly singing a hymn that was making the

rounds at primary school about being in peril on the sea, as at this

very time his father was on board the QE2 on the way to a warzone...</font></p>

<p align="justify"><font color="#000000">Despite

being one of the first to land at Port Stanley while the SAS and the

Paras were still mopping up Argentinian Resistance within the town,

Philip's father survived the war relatively unscathed, although for

weeks after returning he refused to eat lamb. This is due to the fact

that the Falklanders tended to live off a whole sheep for weeks on end,

and the lack of variety in meat is something that one cannot really get

used to. The stresses of war are bad enough, but a lack of variety in

diet and other things that can normalise life for the British Squaddie

can make things so much worse. This is why the American Army marches

with Coke vending machines strapped to their backs...</font></p>

<p align="justify"><font color="#000000">Philip's

father returned to England within four months, and army family life

returned to normal. On the other hand, Philip was not doing too well at

school, and he was diagnosed with learning difficulties and sent to a

tutorial unit at another primary school where he could get more

intensive help with his education.</font></p>

<p align="justify"><font color="#000000">In

1985 Philip attended Laleham Boarding School in Margate, Kent, a school

for children with moderate learning difficulties. As soon as he arrived

he was put through isometric tests and was found to be of higher than

average intelligence despite his learning difficulties. Philip left

secondary education in 1990 and spent the next 18 years either working

low wage jobs or on the dole. It was only recently that he was finally

diagnosed with ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) with a borderline

towards Aspergers Syndrome. Philip feels that if the school had known

all this when he was still a child in full-time education that much

more could have been done for him.</font></p>

<p align="justify"><font color="#000000">Despite

a lack of a good formal education, Philip refuses to let life's

circumstances beat him, and has always tried to educate himself in

adult life. Philip would love to attend Nottingham University to do a

Creative &amp; Professional Writing Degree (BTEC Hons) as a mature

student, but since the removal of state grants and the implimentation

of a system of student loans and debt, Philip feels that he can not

take this path as he does not want such a large debt around his neck.</font></p>

<p align="justify"><font color="#000000">Instead,

Philip has been busy writing poetry and short stories since the age of

nineteen, honing his craft so that one day his work would be good

enough to publish.

Philip Brennan was born in Tidworth, Hampshire on June 6, 1974. His Father was a Corporal in the Royal Corps of Engineers, and throughout his early life Philip moved around Europe as his father took on various postings and Tours of Duty.

In 1976 Philip moved to Halstembeck in Germany, near to the town of Padaborn. He spent three very happy years there as a young child, and by the time he left Germany he was as fluent as any native six year old in German. Unfortunately, he has forgotten the knowledge of the vast majority of the language, which pains him no end. He has to look up the lyrics of Rammstein and Eisbrecher songs in order to get their precise meaning...

In 1980 he moved to Antrim Town in Northern Ireland, and to be quite honest he hated the place. Also, it was the height of the Troubles in Ulster, and for about three months during their time there his father had to keep his SLR at home because of a PIRA threat made against the families of British Soldiers living in Ulster.

In 1982 the family returned to England just before Philip's father was sent off to the Falkland Islands to kick the Argentinians off British Sovereign Territory. It was a particularly stressful time for the family, especially Philip's mother and older sister, and Philip did not help matters much by constantly singing a hymn that was making the rounds at primary school about being in peril on the sea, as at this very time his father was on board the QE2 on the way to a warzone...

Despite being one of the first to land at Port Stanley while the SAS and the Paras were still mopping up Argentinian Resistance within the town, Philip's father survived the war relatively unscathed, although for weeks after returning he refused to eat lamb. This is due to the fact that the Falklanders tended to live off a whole sheep for weeks on end, and the lack of variety in meat is something that one cannot really get used to. The stresses of war are bad enough, but a lack of variety in diet and other things that can normalise life for the British Squaddie can make things so much worse. This is why the American Army marches with Coke vending machines strapped to their backs...

Philip's father returned to England within four months, and army family life returned to normal. On the other hand, Philip was not doing too well at school, and he was diagnosed with learning difficulties and sent to a tutorial unit at another primary school where he could get more intensive help with his education.

In 1985 Philip attended Laleham Boarding School in Margate, Kent, a school for children with moderate learning difficulties. As soon as he arrived he was put through isometric tests and was found to be of higher than average intelligence despite his learning difficulties. Philip left secondary education in 1990 and spent the next 18 years either working low wage jobs or on the dole. It was only recently that he was finally diagnosed with ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) with a borderline towards Aspergers Syndrome. Philip feels that if the school had known all this when he was still a child in full-time education then much more could have been done for him.

Despite a lack of a good formal education, Philip refuses to let life's circumstances beat him, and has always tried to educate himself in adult life. Philip would love to attend Nottingham University to do a Creative & Professional Writing Degree (BTEC Hons) as a mature student, but since the removal of state grants and the implementation of a system of student loans and debt, Philip feels that he can not take this path as he does not want such a large debt around his neck.

Instead, Philip has been busy writing poetry and short stories since the age of nineteen, honing his craft so that one day his work would be good enough to publish.

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