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he said that his left-leaning politics and anti-apartheid stance were formed during his years at UCT, which was then a hotbed of anti-apartheid student activism. The lanky David was extremely popular and amusingly garrulous, dominating dinner conversation with tales of his exotic, multinational upbringing. But something else was forming for David. In 1962, his girlfriend, Sandra Thompson, announced that she was pregnant. David was only twenty-one and the surprise pregnancy floored him. Footloose and fancy-free, he wasn’t exactly planning to settle down in South Africa with a wife and child, but he nevertheless married Sandra. His first child, Erin, was born that year.
    Six months later, David had had enough of playing father. He announced to Sandra that he was returning to England to visit his mother. Sandra Thompson Bale filed for divorce in 1964. Their daughter, Erin, didn’t use the name Bale, choosing instead the name of her stepfather, Plessis.
    Back in England, David’s prospects were decidedly grim. His mother suggested that he learn a trade and enter the workforce—perhaps drive a lorry, he recalled with bitterness. David, who had enjoyed the sunny climes of South Africa, didn’t like gray and sullen London, so he headed to Bournemouth to recapture some of the seaside life he preferred.
    Destiny found David sleeping at a 24-hour Wimpy restaurant in Bournemouth, one of the few places that would stay open in the conservative and picturesque beach town, about two hours from London by train. Named after the burger-eating character in the Popeye comic strip, Wimpy is a U.K. fast-food chain similar to Big Boy’s or Denny’s in the U.S. Charming the waitresses, David had settled in a comfortable booth at the back of the restaurant where he could read the newspapers, nurse a mug of tea, and nibble on a plate of chips. “He wouldn’t even say he washomeless,” Christian said of his father. “To him, it was just another thing he was doing.” But there at Wimpy, David met Jenny James, a strikingly beautiful young Joan Collins look-alike. Christian has her piercing eyes.
    Jenny James was a very passionate young woman, who was looking for adventure to take her away from quiet Bournemouth. She found it with the silver-tongued David, who was handsome, charming, and told tales of exotic places. She was smitten.
    By 1968, David and Jenny had their first daughter, Sharon. They married on February 26, 1972, at St. Laurence’s Church in the village of Combe in Oxfordshire. But David was unable to find full-time work. He disliked authority figures, was cheerfully irresponsible, and bristled at the conventional employer-employee relationship. Entrepreneurial in spirit, David attempted to start a number of businesses, all of which ended in disaster. He claimed to have introduced the skateboard to England, but a lack of attention to the distribution contract left David penniless.
    When British Midland Airways was actively recruiting for pilots, David borrowed money to attend the airline’s Airline Preparation Programme at Oxford Aviation Training, but he never completed it. Jenny gave birth to their second daughter, Louise, in 1972. The growing Bale family needed an immediate source of income.
    But instead David decided what the family needed was a return to nature. So the Bales loaded up their VW camper van and headed west to Wales where David planned to find work on a farm. The Bales found themselves in Haverfordwest, the largest town in Pembrokeshire. With its remote calm, beautiful scenery, rugged coasts, clean beaches, and majestic mountains, David felt that Pembrokeshire would be an ideal place to raise a family.
    Christian Charles Philip Bale was born on January 30, 1974, in Haverfordwest. To say that David was thrilled would be a gross understatement. After three daughters, he finally had ason. “Those extra couple of ounces make all the difference in the world!” David