Michael William McCrum

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(23 May 1924 – 16 February 2005) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

and

ancient historian Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...

who served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge,

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

, and Head Master of

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

and

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 ...

Life and career

McCrum was born at

Alverstoke Alverstoke is a small settlement which forms part of the borough of Gosport, on the south coast of Hampshire, England. It stretches east–west from Fort Blockhouse, Haslar to Browndown Battery, and is centred east of the shore of Stokes Bay and ...

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 ...

.John E. Lewis. "McCrum, Michael William (1924–2005)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2009. The son of a naval Captain, he grew up at naval bases where his father was stationed. He was educated at

Horris Hill School Horris Hill, is an independent day and boarding preparatory school for boys aged 4–13. It is located in Hampshire in England, south of Newbury in West Berkshire and near the village of Newtown. The school was founded on its present site in 1 ...

, Newbury and

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors , ...

before Second World War service as an

able seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...

and then

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. He then won a scholarship to read

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. He graduated in 1948 with a

Double First The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

. After graduation, McCrum became a master at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

. He married the daughter of the headmaster, Sir

Arthur fforde Sir Arthur Frederic Brownlow fforde GBE (23 August 1900 – 26 June 1985) was an English solicitor, civil servant, headmaster, writer and businessman. Arthur fforde was educated at Rugby School (SH 1914–1919, Head of School) and Trinity College ...

, in 1952. McCrum was appointed Fellow of Corpus Christi in 1950 and was an (innovative) Tutor there under the Master, Sir George Thomson, and was also Director of Classical Studies.

Tonbridge School

McCrum left Cambridge in 1962 to become headmaster of

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

, where he earned a good reputation and transformed the school, emphasising academic standards and implementing sweeping reforms, including the abolition of the old traditions of

fagging Fagging was a traditional practice in British public schools and also at many other boarding schools, whereby younger pupils were required to act as personal servants to the eldest boys. Although probably originating earlier, the first account ...

and

caning Caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of a number of hits (known as "strokes" or "cuts") with a single Stick-fighting, cane usually made of rattan, generally applied to the offender's bare or clothed buttocks (see spanking) or ha ...

of junior boys by "praepostors" (senior boys). He also made the

Cadet Corps A corps of cadets, also called cadet corps, was originally a kind of military school for boys. Initially such schools admitted only sons of the nobility or gentry, but in time many of the schools were opened also to members of other social classes. ...

voluntary. ''The Tonbridgian'' (the school magazine) wrote in 1967 that "Never have there been so many changes in so short a time". By a stratagem, he contrived that straw boater hats ("barges") be retained, although there was a clear majority for their outright abolition in the poll of the boys which he arranged. His impressive stature and his ability to memorize the name and face of every boy (and master) in the school during the first week of the autumn term helped him to command respect. He later described part of his task at Tonbridge as having been "the reduction of stupid anachronisms" and "giving boys more liberties, provided they do not take them"; corporal punishment, he said, was "often the lesser of two evils". While at Tonbridge, McCrum was an early supporter of the idea of

education voucher A school voucher, also called an education voucher in a voucher system, is a certificate of government funding for students at schools chosen by themselves or their parents. Funding is usually for a particular year, term, or semester. In some cou ...

s, and he opposed Labour Party proposals for school reform. He criticised the reduction of the age of majority and the voting age to 18, saying that while they might be outwardly more mature than formerly, 18-year-olds "were still searching for guidance and authority" and "were less aware than formerly of the framework of tradition and the concept of the family community" under the increasing influence of the press and media.

Eton College

In 1970 he became Head Master of Eton College, ostensibly a more prestigious position but perhaps one that allowed less initiative or authority than at Tonbridge. He raised standards at Eton after the era of

Anthony Chenevix-Trench Anthony Chenevix-Trench (10 May 1919 – 21 June 1979) was a British schoolteacher and classics scholar. He was born in British India, educated at Shrewsbury School and Christ Church, Oxford, and served in the Second World War as an artillery of ...

, whose weaknesses differentiated him from the self-disciplined McCrum. The curriculum was modernised and academic standards improved. Just before leaving Eton he oversaw the final abolition of fagging, as he had at Tonbridge earlier. As Chairman of the

Headmasters' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) is an association of the head teachers of 361 independent schools (both boarding schools and day schools), some traditionally described as public schools. 298 Members are based in the Unite ...

in 1974, McCrum called for greater co-operation between the independent and maintained sectors of education. McCrum banned Nigerian writer

Dillibe Onyeama Dillibe Onyeama (6 January 1951 – 10 November 2022) was a Nigerian author and publisher. In 1969, he became the first black person to finish his studies at Eton College in England. He wrote a book about his experiences of racism at Eton, ''Nig ...

from visiting Eton after the latter alleged having experienced racism at the college. This decision was overturned in approximately 2010.

Corpus Christi College

In 1980, McCrum returned to Corpus Christi, Cambridge as Master, introducing women to the college in 1982. In 1987 he became the last of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

's part-time Vice-Chancellors. He was president of the Cambridge Society from 1989 to 1996. He chaired the Oxford and Cambridge Schools Examination Board from 1981 to 1987, and the School Governing Bodies Association from 1989 to 1994. In his farewell speech as Vice-Chancellor he called for university lecturers to be better paid.Gow, David. "Exam warning in vice-chancellor's parting shot", ''The Guardian'', London, 3 October 1989, p. 2. An

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

, he was chairman of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England (from 1991) and was a member of the BBC/IBA religious affairs committee (while headmaster of Tonbridge; despite his reforming zeal in other respects, formal daily chapel services remained part of the fabric of school life while he was there; he did make attendance voluntary at Eton).

Honours

He was appointed

in 1998.

Personal life

In addition to a collection of historical documents in Latin and Greek, compiled during his first spell at Corpus Christi, he wrote a biography of

Thomas Arnold Thomas Arnold (13 June 1795 – 12 June 1842) was an English educator and historian. He was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement. As headmaster of Rugby School from 1828 to 1841, he introduced several reforms that were wide ...

, the distinguished headmaster of Rugby.

Family

McCrum was married to Christine fforde and they had four children, one of whom (

Robert McCrum John Robert McCrum (born 7 July 1953) is an English writer and editor, holding senior editorial positions at Faber and Faber over seventeen years, followed by a long association with ''The Observer''. Early life The son of Michael William McC ...

) was Literary Editor of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

''.

Publications

* * *McCrum, Michael; & Woodhead, A. G. (1966). ''Select documents of the principates of the Flavian emperors: Including the year of revolution, A.D. 68-96''. Cambridge: University Press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCrum, Michael William People educated at Sherborne School Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Masters of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge English Anglicans Head Masters of Eton College Headmasters of Tonbridge School 1924 births 2005 deaths Royal Navy officers of World War II