Early Life
At the age of 13 he suffered the trauma of being bombed out with his family living in Blackfen, Sidcup, February 1941. Bean briefly flirted with Communism whilst at school, calling for support of the Soviet Union. His initial fervour soon faded and by the time he began his National service in 1945, Bean was largely apolitical. Initially he was a trainee navigator in RAF Volunteer Reserve and later as a sailor in the Royal Navy. Bean became a radar mechanic and was placed on HMS Bulawayo a fleet supply ship which made several visits to Trinidad until the finish of his naval service in June 1948. He briefly lived in India during 1950 to work as a chemist in a paint factory, although he failed to settle and returned to Britain six months later.
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