James Skullion's first contact with Porterhouse College came when, as a young boy, he carried the students' cases for sixpence when they arrived at the railway station at Cambridge, running beside their cabs to help unload them at the College. He became a Porter at Porterhouse in 1937 and served in the Royal Marines during the Second World War. He became the Head Porter in 1949. In the books, Skullion has worked at the College for forty-five years, has served seven Masters, and sees himself as a link with the College's great and glorious past; as such he regards it as his duty to maintain the standards of bygone years. Porterhouse is not an academic college; rather, it is a club for gentlemen, where admission depends on rank and wealth and where degrees can be bought. This often involves a brighter substitute from another college being paid to take the place of the Porterhouse student in the examination. Based on their fraudulent degrees, many of these students have gone on to obtain positions of great power in government and industry. These men are known as " 'Skullion's Scholars' ". He keeps their names on a list, knowing it will be useful one day.