Giles Alington ( 29 May 1914 – 24 February 1956) was a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

, from 1944 to 1956.

Biography

Alington was eldest son of the Very Revd Dr

Cyril Alington Cyril Argentine Alington (22 October 1872 – 16 May 1955) was an English educationalist, scholar, cleric, and author. He was successively the headmaster of Shrewsbury School and Eton College. He also served as chaplain to King George V and as De ...

, headmaster of

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into the ...

, and

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

, and his wife, Hester Margaret, née Lyttelton. His father came from a long line of clerics, a branch of the landed gentry Alington family of

Little Barford Little Barford is a hamlet and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England about northeast of the county town of Bedford. The 2011 census combines other data for Little Barford with Wyboston, Chawston and Colesden civil pari ...

Manor House,

St Neots St NeotsPronunciation of the town name: Most commonly, but variations that ''saint'' is said as in most English non-georeferencing speech, the ''t'' is by a small minority of the British pronounced and higher traces of in the final syllable ...

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...

, and was descended from the Alingtons of

Horseheath Horseheath is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, situated a few miles south-east of Cambridge, between Linton, Cambridgeshire, Linton and Haverhill, Suffolk, Haverhill, on the A1307 road. It was known to the Roman Empire, Romans, and it had f ...

, an ancient

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

family, from which also descended the Barons Alington. Before

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 ...

, Alington was assistant secretary of the

National Association of Probation Officers Napo (formerly the National Association of Probation Officers) is the trade union and professional association that represents probation staff including probation officers and other operational and administrative staff and Children and Family Co ...

.Mr. Giles Alington
, ''

Probation Journal The ''Probation Journal: The Journal of Community and Criminal Justice'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering criminal justice and probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court of ...

'', Vol. 8, No. 1, page 15 (1956). Alington was unable to join up during World War II due to ill health. Instead, he helped Arthur Goodhart as coordinator of the wartime Short Leave Courses at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

. Alington was a dominant figure amongst the fellows at University College in the post-war years. He was appointed

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the College in 1945 and also Senior Tutor from 1948 until his death. He was not very academic (achieving a

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

in his degree), but was well liked by students for his patrician manner, and he also had administrative ability. While in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, he was also a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

and a member of the Visiting Justices' Committee at

Oxford Prison Oxford Castle is a large, partly ruined medieval castle on the western side of central Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. Most of the original moated, wooden motte and bailey castle was replaced in stone in the late 12th or early 13th century and ...

John Wild John Wild may refer to: *Jack Wild (1952–2006), English actor *John Benton Wild (1806–1857), Australian politician *John Caspar Wild (1804–1846), American painter *John Daniel Wild (1902–1972), American philosopher *John J. Wild (1914–200 ...

was Master of University College from 1945 to 1951, during much of Alington's time as a Fellow at the College. Wild went on to succeed Giles Alington's father, Cyril Alington, as Dean of

Death

Giles Alington died at the age of 41. The Alington Room at University College is named in his memory. He had three surviving sisters, Lavinia, Joan and Elizabeth. Lavinia was married to the academic Roger Mynors. Joan was married to

John Vaughan Wilkes John Comyn Vaughan Wilkes (30 March 1902 – 24 January 1986) was an English educationalist, who was Warden of Radley College and an Anglican priest. Wilkes was born in Eastbourne, the eldest son of Lewis Chitty Vaughan Wilkes and his wife Ci ...

and was the mother of another academic

Kathy Wilkes Kathleen Vaughan Wilkes (23 June 1946 – 21 August 2003) was an English philosopher and academic who played an important part in rebuilding the education systems of former Communist countries after 1990. She established her reputation as an aca ...

. Elizabeth married

Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel (; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), styled as Lord Dunglass between 1918 and 1951 and being The 14th Earl of Home from 1951 till 1963, was a British Conservative politician who se ...

, British

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. Another Prime Minister,

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

, who had connections with University College, was also a friend and colleague. Harold and Mary Wilson named their son Giles after Alington.

References

1914 births 1956 deaths Fellows of University College, Oxford English justices of the peace {{UOxford-stub