Early Life
Parkin was born in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood. As a boy he was always interested in ships and was in the sea scouts. He was always keen on drawing (especially drawing ships), and after leaving school at age 14 that interest got him a job at an engraving firm. In 1928 aged 18 he joined the Royal Australian Navy, which took him to ports around the Pacific and gave him plenty more subjects to draw.
He rose through the ranks of the navy to become a chief petty officer, and in 1939 was drafted onto the newly-commissioned light cruiser HMAS Perth. Its sole peaceful mission was a trip to New York to represent Australia at the World's Fair, from which it was straight into World War II.
Read more about this topic: Ray Parkin
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or life:
“Very early in our children’s lives we will be forced to realize that the “perfect” untroubled life we’d like for them is just a fantasy. In daily living, tears and fights and doing things we don’t want to do are all part of our human ways of developing into adults.”
—Fred Rogers (20th century)
“The best thing in life is doing things people say you can’t do.”
—Jennifer Moore (b. 1972)