Sir Philip Montefiore Magnus-Allcroft, 2nd Baronet,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

JP (8 February 1906 – 21 December 1988), was a British

biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...

. He wrote under the name Philip Magnus. Magnus-Allcroft was born in

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, the son of Laurie Magnus and Dora Marian Spielmann, the grandson of the educationalist and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician Sir Philip Magnus, 1st Baronet. He was a member of a notable Jewish family; his paternal grandmother was the historian Katie Emmanuel and his maternal grandmother was Emily Sebag-Montefiore. Educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...

, Magnus succeeded to the baronetcy in 1933. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the

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and the Intelligence Corps, rising to the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. He married Jewell Allcroft in 1943, and in 1951 added the name of Allcroft to his own by

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. In later years, as well as writing, he served as a justice of the peace, Shropshire County Councillor, chairman of its planning committee and the records committee, chairman of the governors of Attingham College and governor of Ludlow Grammar School. Between 1970 and 1977 he was a trustee of the

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. He lived in Stokesay Court,

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, England.

Publications

Magnus-Allcroft (under pen-name Philip Magnus) was author of several biographies: *''Edmund Burke: A Prophet of the Eighteenth Century'', 1939 *''Sir Walter Raleigh'', 1952 *''Gladstone – a biography'', 1954 *''Kitchener – portrait of an Imperialist'', 1958 *''King Edward the Seventh'', 1964

Arms

References

* *

Encyclopaedia Judaica The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a multi-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, Jewish holida ...

, art. "Magnus" *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. * 1906 births 1988 deaths British Jews People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Jewish historians 20th-century English historians Royal Artillery officers Intelligence Corps officers British Army personnel of World War II English justices of the peace Councillors in Shropshire 2

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

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