Early Life
Bernard Samson is the son of Brian Samson, a British SIS operative who worked undercover in Germany during World War II and who became head of the Berlin Field Unit after the war. Brian Samson plays a small role in Deighton's 1987 prequel novel Winter. Bernard grew up in post-war Berlin before the wall was built and received a typical German education rather than a privileged English one and never went to university. Despite his ability to speak German fluently, he is seen as an Englishmen by Germans, and as a German by the British, leaving him unsure about which country he really belongs to. Bernard worked for his father from a young age with his best friend Werner Volkmann. They served as couriers making payments to agents and performing espionage related 'odd-jobs'. This enabled Bernard to make friendships and connections that would serve him well in his future work.
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