Noel Annan
Encyclopedia
Noel Gilroy Annan, Baron Annan, OBE
(25 December 1916 – 21 February 2000) was a British military intelligence officer, author, and academic. During his military career, he rose to the rank of Colonel and was appointed OBE
. He was Provost of King's College, Cambridge
, Provost of University College, London, Vice-Chancellor of the University of London
, and a member of the House of Lords
.
Annan's publications include Leslie Stephen (1951 - awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize
), Roxburgh of Stowe (1965), Our Age (1990), described by Professor John Gray
in the New Statesman
as a "marvellous compendium of the higher gossip,"http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FQP/is_4559_130/ai_79380720 Changing Enemies (1995), and The Dons (1999). His best-known essay is "The Intellectual Aristocracy," which illustrates, according to Robert Fulford in the National Post
, the "web of kinship that united British intellectuals (the Darwins, Huxleys, Macaulays, etc.) in the 19th and early 20th centuries."http://www.robertfulford.com/Dons.html
, attending St. Winnifred's School, Seaford, and Stowe
, Buckinghamshire
, a well-known fee-paying school. At Stowe, he was head of Temple House, and editor of the school newspaper The Stoic.
He went up to King's College, Cambridge
in 1935, where he read history, then continued for a fourth year to read Law. While at King's, he was recruited into the Cambridge Apostles
, a secret debating society whose members included Guy Burgess
, and Michael Straight
, who became spies for the Soviet Union
(see Cambridge Five
).
, a department of the War Office. In 1942, he was posted to the Joint Intelligence Staff in the war cabinet office, which was located with Winston Churchill
in his bunker. http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0272%2FNGA;recurse=1 In 1944, he was transferred to Paris
to become the French liaison officer with British military intelligence, later becoming a senior officer in the political division of the British Control Commission in Germany
.
In June 1950, he married Gabriele Ullstein, a marriage that produced two daughters, Lucy in 1952, and Juliet in 1955.
He was elected Provost of King's in 1956. In 1966, he took up the post of Provost of University College, London, then from 1978 until 1981, was Vice-Chancellor of the University of London. He was created a life peer
in 1965 as Baron Annan, of the Royal Burgh of Annan in the County of Dumfries. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1974.. Essex University awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1967.
1963-1980, and of the National Gallery
1978-85. He also chaired the Royal Commission on Broadcasting, which concluded in 1977 (see Annan Committee
). He was the first chairman of the Trustee's education committee at Churchill College, Cambridge.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(25 December 1916 – 21 February 2000) was a British military intelligence officer, author, and academic. During his military career, he rose to the rank of Colonel and was appointed OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
. He was Provost of King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, Provost of University College, London, Vice-Chancellor of the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, and a member of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
.
Annan's publications include Leslie Stephen (1951 - awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize
James Tait Black Memorial Prize
Founded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English language and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
), Roxburgh of Stowe (1965), Our Age (1990), described by Professor John Gray
John Gray (LSE)
John N. Gray is a British political philosopher and author, formerly School Professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics....
in the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
as a "marvellous compendium of the higher gossip,"http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FQP/is_4559_130/ai_79380720 Changing Enemies (1995), and The Dons (1999). His best-known essay is "The Intellectual Aristocracy," which illustrates, according to Robert Fulford in the National Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
, the "web of kinship that united British intellectuals (the Darwins, Huxleys, Macaulays, etc.) in the 19th and early 20th centuries."http://www.robertfulford.com/Dons.html
Early life
He was born in Gloucester Terrace, LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, attending St. Winnifred's School, Seaford, and Stowe
Stowe School
Stowe School is an independent school in Stowe, Buckinghamshire. It was founded on 11 May 1923 by J. F. Roxburgh, initially with 99 male pupils. It is a member of the Rugby Group and Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school is also a member of the G20 Schools Group...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, a well-known fee-paying school. At Stowe, he was head of Temple House, and editor of the school newspaper The Stoic.
He went up to King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
in 1935, where he read history, then continued for a fourth year to read Law. While at King's, he was recruited into the Cambridge Apostles
Cambridge Apostles
The Cambridge Apostles, also known as the Cambridge Conversazione Society, is an intellectual secret society at the University of Cambridge founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who went on to become the first Bishop of Gibraltar....
, a secret debating society whose members included Guy Burgess
Guy Burgess
Guy Francis De Moncy Burgess was a British-born intelligence officer and double agent, who worked for the Soviet Union. He was part of the Cambridge Five spy ring that betrayed Western secrets to the Soviets before and during the Cold War...
, and Michael Straight
Michael Whitney Straight
Michael Whitney Straight, was an American magazine publisher, novelist, patron of the arts, a member of the prominent Whitney family, and a confessed spy for the KGB.-Biography:...
, who became spies for the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
(see Cambridge Five
Cambridge Five
The Cambridge Five was a ring of spies, recruited in part by Russian talent spotter Arnold Deutsch in the United Kingdom, who passed information to the Soviet Union during World War II and at least into the early 1950s...
).
Military career
In October 1940, he entered officer cadet training, and in January 1941 was sent to the intelligence corps and posted to MI14MI14
MI14, or British Military Intelligence, Section 14 was a department of the British Directorate of Military Intelligence. It was an intelligence agency of the War Office, which specialised in intelligence about Germany...
, a department of the War Office. In 1942, he was posted to the Joint Intelligence Staff in the war cabinet office, which was located with Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
in his bunker. http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0272%2FNGA;recurse=1 In 1944, he was transferred to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to become the French liaison officer with British military intelligence, later becoming a senior officer in the political division of the British Control Commission in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Academic career
Annan returned to King's in 1946, where he had been elected to a fellowship in absentia in 1944. He joined the economics faculty and lectured in politics.In June 1950, he married Gabriele Ullstein, a marriage that produced two daughters, Lucy in 1952, and Juliet in 1955.
He was elected Provost of King's in 1956. In 1966, he took up the post of Provost of University College, London, then from 1978 until 1981, was Vice-Chancellor of the University of London. He was created a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
in 1965 as Baron Annan, of the Royal Burgh of Annan in the County of Dumfries. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1974.. Essex University awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1967.
Committees
He acted as a trustee of the British MuseumBritish Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
1963-1980, and of the National Gallery
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
1978-85. He also chaired the Royal Commission on Broadcasting, which concluded in 1977 (see Annan Committee
Annan Committee
The Annan Committee on the future of broadcasting was established in April 1974 to discuss the United Kingdom broadcasting industry, including new technologies and their funding, the role and funding of the BBC, Independent Broadcasting Authority and programme standards.In February 1977 the...
). He was the first chairman of the Trustee's education committee at Churchill College, Cambridge.
Further reading
- Lord Noel Gilroy Annan, memorial booklet published by King's College, Cambridge, 2001.
- Portraits of Annan, National Portrait Gallery