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 unive ...

, from 1944 to 1956.

Biography

Alington was eldest son of the Very Revd Dr Cyril Alington, 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, ...

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 ...

, and

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at Durham Cathedral, 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

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Manor House, St Neots,

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, and was descended from the Alingtons of Horseheath, an ancient

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a 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 Northamptonshire to the ...

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 opposing ...

, Alington was assistant secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers.Mr. Giles Alington
, '' Probation Journal'', 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. 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 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 judic ...

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 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 Durham Cathedral.

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 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, 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 i ...

. Another Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, 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