John Patrick Carswell CB

FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

(30 May 1918 – 12 November 1997) was an English

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

and author who served as Secretary of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

from 1978 to 1983. Professionally and as an author, he was known as J. P. Carswell, although he published some of his books under the name John Carswell.

Early life

The son of Donald Carswell, a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and author, and of

Catherine Carswell Catherine Roxburgh Carswell (née Macfarlane; 27 March 1879 – 18 February 1946) was a Scottish author, biographer and journalist, now known as one of the few women to take part in the Scottish Renaissance. Her biography of the Scottish poet Ro ...

, also an author, he was educated at

Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Small things grow in harmony , established = , closed = , coordinates = , pushpin_map = , type = Independent day school , religion = Church o ...

, and

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

.CARSWELL, John Patrick
at ''Who Was Who 1897-2006'' online at Credo Reference (accessed 12 January 2008); or see his entry in Who's Who 1993 (London, A. & C. Black, 1993) p. 316

Career

Carswell completed his degree course at

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 ...

in 1940, during the

Second World War 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 ...

, and then joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. He served from 1940 to 1946, when he decided to enter HM Civil Service. His first significant appointment was as Joint Secretary to the Committee on Economic and Financial Problems of Provision for Old Age (the ''Phillips Committee''), from 1953 to 1954, and he was promoted Assistant Secretary in 1955. He became

Principal Private Secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in t ...

to the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance in 1955 and was at

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...

from 1961 to 1964. While at the Treasury, Professor

Asa Briggs Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs (7 May 1921 – 15 March 2016) was an English historian. He was a leading specialist on the Victorian era, and the foremost historian of broadcasting in Britain. Briggs achieved international recognition during his lon ...

invited Carswell to deliver a series of lectures in 1963 at the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

on the European context of the English Revolution of 1688. These later formed the basis for his book ''The Descent on England''. In 1964, he became

Under-secretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...

in the Office of the

Lord President of the Council The lord president of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the ...

and Minister for Science. Later the same year he transferred to become Under-secretary at the

Department of Education and Science An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

and Ministry of Health, remaining until 1974. He was Secretary to the University Grants Committee from 1974 until 1977, and his last appointment was as Secretary of the

for five years, 1978 to 1983. He was a member of the

Garrick Club The Garrick Club is a gentlemen's club in the heart of London founded in 1831. It is one of the oldest members' clubs in the world and, since its inception, has catered to members such as Charles Kean, Henry Irving, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, A ...

Publications

Books

*''The Prospector: being the life and times of

Rudolf Erich Raspe Rudolf Erich Raspe (March 1736 – 16 November 1794) was a German librarian, writer, and scientist, called by his biographer John Patrick Carswell a "rogue". He is best known for his collection of tall tales '' The Surprising Adventures of Bar ...

(1737–1794)'', 1950 bout_the_creator_of_the_famous_fictional_Baron_Munchausen_character.html" ;"title="Baron_Munchausen.html" ;"title="bout the creator of the famous fictional Baron Munchausen">bout the creator of the famous fictional Baron Munchausen character">Baron_Munchausen.html" ;"title="bout the creator of the famous fictional Baron Munchausen">bout the creator of the famous fictional Baron Munchausen character*''The Old Cause: Three Biographical Studies in Whiggism'', 1954 *''The South Sea Bubble'', 1960, 2nd edition 1993 *''The Diary and Political Papers of George Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe, George Bubb Dodington'' (ed with L. A. Dralle), 1965 *''The Civil Servant and his World'', 1966 *''The Descent on England: A Study of the English Revolution of 1688 and its European Background'', 1969 *''From Revolution to Revolution: England 1688-1776'', 1973 *''Lives and Letters'', 1978 *''The Exile: a memoir of

Ivy Litvinov Ivy Teresa Low Litvinov (Russian language, Russian: Айви Вальтеровна Литвинова) (4 June 1889 – 16 April 1977) was an English-Russian writer and translator, and wife of Soviet diplomat and foreign minister Maxim Litvinov ...

'', 1983 *''Government and the Universities in Britain: Programme and Performance 1960-1980'', 1986 *''The Porcupine: a life of

Algernon Sidney Algernon Sidney or Sydney (15 January 1623 – 7 December 1683) was an English politician, republican political theorist and colonel. A member of the middle part of the Long Parliament and commissioner of the trial of King Charles I of England ...

'', 1989 *''The Saving of Kenwood and the Northern Heights'', 1992

Articles

*''Algernon Sidney's 'Court Maxims': The Biographical Importance of a Transcript'', in: ''Historical Research'' (HR) 62, February 1989, pp. 96–103 *''Lost for words on "the heritage"'', letter, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 8 September 1983, p. 11 He also contributed to the ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' and other periodicals.

Honours

*Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

, 1977 *Honorary Research Fellow, Department of History,

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, 1983 *Life Member of the

Institute of Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate Hous ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, 1984 *Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

, 1984

Family

In 1944, Carswell married Ianthe Elstob, and they had two daughters. Ianthe Elstob was the daughter of a naval officer and his wife Ivy Elstob and the stepdaughter of Irving Davis, author of the posthumous ''A Catalan Cookery Book: a Collection of Impossible Recipes'' (1969). Ianthe Carswell died in 2001. In 1957, with Sheila Jones, she had formed the National Committee for the Abolition of Nuclear Tests, which evolved into the

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucle ...

. THE DIARY by SHOLTO BYRNES
in

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

, London, March 4, 2001 online at findarticles.com (accessed 12 January 2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carswell, John Patrick 1918 births 1997 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Companions of the Order of the Bath Civil servants in the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance Civil servants in HM Treasury Civil servants in the Office of the Lord President of the Council Civil servants in the Department of Education (United Kingdom) Civil servants in the Ministry of Health (United Kingdom) English non-fiction writers 20th-century British historians People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood English male non-fiction writers Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature British Army personnel of World War II 20th-century English male writers English people of Scottish descent