Editing Alfred Hitchcock (section)

====Henley's====
Hitchcock told his parents that he wanted to be an engineer,{{sfn|Truffaut|1983|p=26}} and on 25 July 1913,<ref name=Spoto1999p23>{{harvnb|Spoto|1999|p=23}}</ref> he left St Ignatius and enrolled in night classes at the London County Council School of Engineering and Navigation in Poplar. In a [[Hitchcock/Truffaut|book-length interview]] in 1962, he told [[François Truffaut]] that he had studied "mechanics, electricity, acoustics, and navigation".{{sfn|Truffaut|1983|p=26}} Then, on 12 December 1914, his father, who had been suffering from [[Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease|emphysema]] and kidney disease, died at the age of 52.<ref>{{harvnb|McGilligan|2003|p=25}}</ref> To support himself and his mother{{snd}}his older siblings had left home by then{{snd}}Hitchcock took a job, for 15 [[Shilling (British coin)|shillings]] a week (£{{formatnum:{{inflation|UK|0.75|1914}}}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}),{{inflation-fn|UK}} as a technical clerk at the [[William Thomas Henley|Henley Telegraph and Cable Company]] in Blomfield Street, near [[London Wall]].<ref>{{harvnb|Adair|2002|p=15}}; {{harvnb|Spoto|1999|p=37}}</ref> He continued night classes, this time in art history, painting, economics and political science.<ref>{{harvnb|Spoto|1999|p=37}}</ref> His older brother ran the family shops, while he and his mother continued to live in Salmon Lane.{{sfn|Ackroyd|2015|p=11}}

Hitchcock was too young to enlist when the [[First World War]] started in July 1914, and when he reached the required age of 18 in 1917, he received a C3 classification ("free from serious organic disease, able to stand service conditions in garrisons at home&nbsp;... only suitable for sedentary work").<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|1996|pp=27–28}};<!--check page--> [https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1918-06-20/debates/3ec12ba9-4d13-4c03-880a-226006f28d83/MilitaryService(MedicalGrading) "Military service (medical grading")] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224062439/https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1918-06-20/debates/3ec12ba9-4d13-4c03-880a-226006f28d83/MilitaryService(MedicalGrading) |date=24 February 2019 }}, ''Hansard'', vol. 107, 20 June 1918, 607–642.</ref> He joined a cadet regiment of the [[Royal Engineers]] and took part in theoretical briefings, weekend drills and exercises. John Russell Taylor wrote that, in one session of practical exercises in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]], Hitchcock was required to wear [[puttees]]. He could never master wrapping them around his legs, and they repeatedly fell down around his ankles.{{sfn|Taylor|1996|p=28}}

After the war, Hitchcock took an interest in creative writing. In June 1919, he became a founding editor and business manager of Henley's in-house publication, ''The Henley Telegraph'' (sixpence a copy), to which he submitted several short stories.{{sfn|McGilligan|2003|p=30}}{{efn|In his first story, "Gas" (June 1919), published in the first issue, a young woman is being assaulted by a mob of men in Paris, only to find she has been hallucinating in the dentist's chair.<ref>{{harvnb|Duncan|2003|p=20}}; Hitchcock, Alfred (June 1919). [https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Henley_Telegraph_(1919)_-_Gas "Gas"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222220201/https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Henley_Telegraph_(1919)_-_Gas |date=22 December 2017 }}, ''Henley Telegraph''.</ref> This was followed by "The Woman's Part" (September 1919), which describes a husband watching his wife, an actor, perform on stage.<ref>{{harvnb|Hitchcock|2014|p=19}}; Hitchcock, Alfred (September 1919). [https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Henley_Telegraph_(1919)_-_The_Woman%27s_Part "The Women's Part"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223042537/https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Henley_Telegraph_(1919)_-_The_Woman%27s_Part |date=23 December 2017 }}, ''Henley Telegraph''; {{harvnb|McGilligan|2003|p=34}}</ref> "Sordid" (February 1920) concerns an attempt to buy a sword from an antiques dealer, with another twist ending.<ref>{{harvnb|Hitchcock|2014|p=20}}; Hitchcock, Alfred (February 1920). [https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Henley_Telegraph_(1920)_-_Sordid "Sordid"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223042506/https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Henley_Telegraph_(1920)_-_Sordid |date=23 December 2017 }}, ''Henley Telegraph''.</ref> "And There Was No Rainbow" (September 1920) finds Bob caught ''[[in flagrante]]'' with a friend's wife.<ref>{{harvnb|Hitchcock|2014|p=22}}; Hitchcock, Alfred (September 1920). [https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Henley_Telegraph_(1920)_-_And_There_Was_No_Rainbow "And There Was No Rainbow"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223042508/https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Henley_Telegraph_(1920)_-_And_There_Was_No_Rainbow |date=23 December 2017 }}, ''Henley Telegraph''.</ref> In "What's Who?" (December 1920), confusion reigns when a group of actors impersonate themselves.<ref>{{harvnb|Hitchcock|2014|p=23}}; Hitchcock, Alfred (December 1920). [https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Henley_Telegraph_(1920)_-_What%27s_Who%3F "What's Who?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223145710/https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Henley_Telegraph_(1920)_-_What%27s_Who%3F |date=23 December 2019 }}, ''Henley Telegraph''.</ref> "The History of Pea Eating" (December 1920) is a satire on the difficulty of eating peas.<ref>{{harvnb|Hitchcock|2014|p=24}}; Hitchcock, Alfred (December 1920). [https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Henley_Telegraph_(1920)_-_The_History_of_Pea_Eating "The History of Pea Eating"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003030654/https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Henley_Telegraph_(1920)_-_The_History_of_Pea_Eating |date=3 October 2017 }}, ''Henley Telegraph''.</ref> His final piece, "Fedora" (March 1921) describes an unknown woman: "small, simple, unassuming, and noiseless, yet she commands profound attention on all sides".<ref>{{harvnb|Hitchcock|2014|p=26}}; {{harvnb|McGilligan|2003|pp=44–45}}; Hitchcock, Alfred (March 1921). [https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Henley_Telegraph_(1921)_-_Fedora "Fedora"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223042540/https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Henley_Telegraph_(1921)_-_Fedora |date=23 December 2017 }}, ''Henley Telegraph''.</ref>}} Henley's promoted him to the advertising department, where he wrote copy and drew graphics for electric cable advertisements. He enjoyed the job and would stay late at the office to examine the proofs; he told Truffaut that this was his "first step toward cinema".{{sfn|Truffaut|1983|p=26}}{{sfn|Taylor|1996|p=21}} He enjoyed watching films, especially American cinema, and from the age of 16 read the trade papers; he watched [[Charlie Chaplin]], [[D. W. Griffith]] and [[Buster Keaton]], and particularly liked [[Fritz Lang]]'s ''[[Der müde Tod]]'' (released in Britain in 1921 as ''Destiny'').{{sfn|Truffaut|1983|p=26}}