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His melancholy search for the security and settledness he had taken for granted before his mother's death, the constant moving from school to school (where at each he
His melancholy search for the security and settledness he had taken for granted before his mother's death, the constant moving from school to school (where at each he
faced the loneliness of being a non-athletic boy whose aesthetic sensibilities were out of step with his peers'), combined with the "distant" personality of his father make his adolescent rejection of religion easier to understand. This is qualified by the adult Lewis himself when he later described his young self as being (paradoxically) "''very angry with God for not existing''".<ref>'''Lewis''', ''Surprised by Joy'' op cit.</ref>
faced the loneliness of being a non-athletic boy whose aesthetic sensibilities were out of step with his peers'), combined with the "distant" personality of his father make his adolescent rejection of religion easier to understand. This is qualified by the adult Lewis himself when he later described his young self as being (paradoxically) "''very angry with God for not existing''".<ref>'''Lewis''', ''Surprised by Joy'' op cit.</ref>
He left Cherbourg House in the summer of 1913 and enrolled at Malvern College (which he called "Wyvern") where he studied until June 1914. In September 19 1914, Lewis was enrolled for private tuition with W.T. Kirkpatrick, known as the "The Great Knock," in Great Bookham, Surrey, where he remained until April 1917. Kirkpatrick, a former Headmaster of Lurgan College, Northern Ireland, had been both a tutor and legal client of Albert Lewis and had already successfully prepared Warren Lewis for admission to the Army's [[Royal Military Academy Sandhurst]].
He left Cherbourg House in the summer of 1913 and enrolled at Malvern College (which he called "Wyvern") where he studied until June 1914. In September 19 1914, Lewis was enrolled for private tuition with W.T. Kirkpatrick, known as the "The Great Knock," in Great Bookham, Surrey, where he remained until April 1917. Kirkpatrick, a former Headmaster of Lurgan College, Northern Ireland, had been both a tutor and legal client of Albert Lewis and had already successfully prepared Warren Lewis for admission to the Army's [[Royal Military Academy Sandhurst]].
==Military service==
==Military service==
Lewis had joined the [[Officer Training Corps]] in September 1913 whilst at Malvern College in September 1913. Although he had left it when he had commenced his study with Kirkpatrick, he rejoined the Malvern Contingent of the Oxford University OTC in March 1917. On April 25, 1917 he applied to join an Officer Cadet Unit, stating a preference to serve in the infantry, preferably with the King’s Own Scottish Borderers or Royal Fusiliers, or with a horse transport unit of the Army Service Corps. Still under the age of 21, the application was counter-signed by his father and character references were taken from Arthur C.Allen (his former Schoolmaster at Malvern) and also from Kirkpatrick. His action was completely voluntary, as although conscription had been in force in Great Britain since the introduction of the Military Service Act in January 1916, it did ''not'' apply to Irish nationals. Five days later the Officer Commanding Oxford University Officers Training Corps completed a recommendation that Lewis attend an Officers Cadet Unit, noting that Lewis was "''likely to make an useful officer but will not have had sufficient training for admission to an OCU before the end of June''".
The medical examination then conducted reveals that Lewis was being 5 feet 10 and {{3/4}} inches tall and weighed 182 pounds, with a chest measurement of 34{{1/2}} inches fully expanded and 32 at rest. His vision was rated "good".
On June 1, 1917 Lewis was admitted to No.4 Officer Cadet Battalion, with a minimum service commitment of 4{{1/2}} months. In September he was transferred from the Oxford University OTC to a temporary commission with the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Special Reserve of Officers in the Regular Army. He was posted to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry in South Devon, and a few days later was then posted to join the 1st Battalion of the regiment in France.