Jon Linden Wynne-Tyson (6 July 1924 – 26 March 2020) was an English author, publisher, Walters, Kerry S., Portmess, Lisa, 1999, ''Ethical Vegetarianism: From Pythagoras to Peter Singer'', SUNY Press, p. 233, .

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

, activist and

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

, who founded Centaur Press in 1954. He ran Centaur Press from his home in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

and was a distinguished independent publisher. He authored books on

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

and

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism may ...

. At one time Wynne-Tyson held the title of " King of Redonda", a literary title referencing a small island.

Life and writings

Jon Linden Wynne-Tyson was born in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, England on 6 July 1924. His mother was

Esmé Wynne-Tyson Esmé Wynne-Tyson (29 June 1898 – 17 January 1972) was an English actress, writer and philosopher. As a child she acted in West End plays, and became a close friend, confidante, and collaborator of Noël Coward. She left the stage in 1920 a ...

, a former child actress and writer, and his father was Linden Charles Tyson, an officer in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. He attended

Brighton College Brighton College is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18); Brighton College Preparatory Sc ...

, but left at age 15, when his father could not longer afford the school fees after rejoining the RAF, on the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Wynne-Tyson was registered as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

, so did not fight in the war, instead working as a market gardener with other pacifists and Quakers. In 1950, Wynne-Tyson married Joan Stanton, they had a daughter together. In 1956, after their divorce, he married Jennifer Tyson (no relation); they also had a daughter. In 1985, he received the Animal Rights Writing Award from the

International Society for Animal Rights International Society for Animal Rights (ISAR) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation chartered under the laws of the District of Columbia, United States, that uses education and law to advance animal rights. History Harvard University's O ...

. His work ''The Extended Circle'', was endorsed by animal rights philosophers

Tom Regan Tom Regan (; November 28, 1938 – February 17, 2017) was an American philosopher who specialized in animal rights theory. He was professor emeritus of philosophy at North Carolina State University, where he had taught from 1967 until his reti ...

and

Peter Singer Peter Albert David Singer (born 6 July 1946) is an Australian moral philosopher, currently the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. He specialises in applied ethics and approaches ethical issues from a secular, ...

. In 1989, Wynne-Tyson published the play ''Marvellous Party'' about his mother and a visit from her close friend

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

. He later adapted it into a radio play which was broadcast on the BBC world service in May 1994. His last book was an autobiography entitled ''Finding the Words: A Publishing Life'', which focused on his life in publishing. His autobiography also details the friendship between his mother and Noël Coward. In 2016, he became a patron of Quaker Concern for Animals. Wynne-Tyson died on 26 March 2020, at the age of 95.

Centaur Press

Founded in 1954, Centaur Press was a full-time independent publishing company until it was sold to another small publisher, in 1998. The output from Centaur Press ranged from small stories illustrated by his first wife Joan Stanton, to the substantial hardback series ''Centaur Classics'', which included such titles as Leland's five-volume ''Itinerary in England and Wales'', Tyndale's translation of the ''Pentateuch'', and Burns' ''Commonplace Book''. The company expanded into

humane education Humane education is broadly defined as education that nurtures compassion and respect for living beingsUnti, B. & DeRosa, B. (2003). Humane education: Past, present, and future. In D. J. Salem & A. N. Rowam (Eds.), ''The State of the Animals II: 2 ...

, under the imprint, Kinship Library, releasing titles on topics such as vegetarianism, animal rights, and related philosophy. The firm also published works of fiction (''So Say Banana Bird''), classical literature and philosophy (''The Myths of Plato'') and poetry.

Vegetarianism

Wynne-Tyson was the author of the book, ''Food for a Future: The Ecological Priority of a Humane Diet'', first published in 1975. It was republished as ''Food for a Future: The Complete Case For Vegetarianism'', in 1979. The book argues from anatomy, physiology, and pathology, that humans are naturally vegetarian and provides ecological necessities for giving up eating and slaughtering animals. Reviewing the book in the ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publishe ...

'' magazine, science writer

Colin Tudge Colin Hiram Tudge (born 22 April 1943) is a British biologist, science writer and broadcaster. Tudge was born and brought up in south London and attended Dulwich College, from where he won a scholarship to Peterhouse, Cambridge, studying zool ...

commented that the "man-is-a-vegetarian thesis is ecological unnecessary, and biology unsound", but that vegetarians do have worthwhile things to say. The book was negatively reviewed in the ''

Medical History The medical history, case history, or anamnesis (from Greek: ἀνά, ''aná'', "open", and μνήσις, ''mnesis'', "memory") of a patient is information gained by a physician by asking specific questions, either to the patient or to other peo ...

'' journal. Wynne-Tyson's book ''Food for a Future'' has a chapter "The Further Step" which is supportive of veganism but he remained a vegetarian in his personal life.

Selected publications

*''Accommodation Wanted'' (Britannicvs Liber: 1951) *''Civilized Alternative: Pattern for Protest'' (Centaur Press: 1972) *''Food for a Future: The Ecological Priority of a Humane Diet'' (HarperCollins: 1975) *''Food for a Future: The Complete Case For Vegetarianism'' (Centaur Press: 1979) *''So Say Banana Bird'' (Pythian: 1984) *'' The Extended Circle: A Dictionary of Humane Thought'' (Centaur Press: 1985, 2009 revised and expanded ed.) *''Food for a Future: How World Hunger Could be Ended by the Twenty-first Century'' (Thorsons: 1988) *''Marvellous Party'' (Open Gate Press: 1989) *''Publishing Your Own Book'' (Centaur Press: 1989) *''Anything Within Reason'' (Oakroyd Press: 1994) *''Finding the Words: A Publishing Life'' (Michael Russell Publishing Ltd.: 2004)

References

External links