St Hilda Street, just out of the city centre now just comprises one side, the north, of Victorian terraced houses but at the time of the young Durbridge was a densely populated cul de sac interspersed with Public Buildings including a Library, the Sculcoates Union Workhouse and the General Infirmary.
It appears that he spent his formative years in these surroundings before going on to attend the well regarded Bradford Grammar School.
Success in play writing came early and he sold his first to the BBC when only 21 years old in 1933.
A prolific output followed with 43 novels, 7 plays and a number of TV series and films.
One of his main characters first emerged in 1938 as a well spoken, intelligent and high-living author of crime fiction and also a private detective whose services were regularly called upon by New Scotland Yard when their own crime fighters were struggling to solve mysteries and conundrums.
That character was Paul Temple, ably assisted by his wife, Steve, herself cast as an author.
The radio broadcasts of Paul Temple and his many cases were a popular distraction for the UK population on the BBC Light Programme through the late 1930's, the wartime and post war years.
The theme music, Coronation Scot by Vivian Ellis became the most requested piece by listeners from 1949 to 1951. It is an instantly recognisable tune even if you are unfamiliar with its Paul Temple link.
Paul Temple Theme Music
The crime genre was already well established when Durbridge introduced Paul Temple although many of the best known characters of the halcyon inter war years hailed from the United States.
Temple was in contrast a home grown protagonist and fitted well into the portrayal of the criminal scene. In those days the goodies were well spoken and the villains either of regional accent or dodgy foreign ones. He was certainly no seedy gumshoe or opportunist.
It really was that clear cut and the crimes that came across the writing desk of Temple were typically murders, crimes of passion, theft , espionage and intrigue.
Durbridge skillfully put his hero into the situation apparently seamlessly through either a call from the frustrated Sir Graham Forbes, an anxious victim or an innocent dragged into a difficult situation.
In between periods of dire peril to both Paul and his wife Steve the couple enjoyed a very luvvy-duvvy existence enjoying good living in London and Home Counties restaurants and nightclubs.
The fictional Temple was regularly recognised and asked about his latest writing project by those were otherwise peripheral to the main story line.
Unfortunately the majority of the early radio broadcasts have been lost but in 2006 it was decided to reproduce the original scripts using authentic mono recording, vintage microphones and sound effects. These when released re-awakened many of the memories of the original fan base and introduced the characters to a new generation.
The language, dramatic ploys and often an over involved plot line and eventual reveal may be rather staid and dated but the quality of the stories holds well in the very overcrowded crime genre that we have in the present day.
The Paul Temple phenomena also found a large fan base in Europe. In 1960's Germany the regular broadcast slots for Temple episodes earned a special name to the effect that they cleared the streets, such was the level of public interest in the different serials.
My own experience has only been relatively recently with BBC 4 Extra re-runs of the duo of Paul Coke and Marjorie Westbury in the main roles. Westbury had played the sidekick, Steve since 1945 but remained in the role with the arrival of Coke (pronounced Cook) in 1954 and through to 1968.
The more recent reproductions saw Crawford Logan and Gerda Stevenson in action.
As at the time of writing the Blue Plaque Committee in Hull is still in debate over one for Francis Durbridge on the house on St Hilda Street. Sounds like a perfect scenario to call upon the services of a crime figthing husband and wife team.......................................
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