Denis Cobell
Encyclopedia
Denis Cobell is a prominent UK Secularist, Humanist, republican and pacifist. He was President of the National Secular Society
from 1997 to 2006.
just before the Second World War. His parents were strict evangelical Christians; his father was a lay preacher. Cobell was baptised and attended St Nicolas’s Church of England School in Portslade
. Following the Eleven Plus
Examinations he went to Hove County Grammar School for Boys.
, in 1956. He moved to London in 1960 and worked at Guy’s Hospital for over 30 years, finally becoming a senior nurse. In 1994 he shifted from full time to part time, continuing to work for the National Health Service
until he finally retired in December 2004 (after 48 years in the NHS).
, who he was to meet at his North Wales home in 1959. He discovered both the Unitarian
Church in New Road Brighton
and the Brighton and Hove Humanist
Group. In terms of developing his atheist views, Denis Cobell had some interesting conversations. He talked with the Rev John Rowland of the Unitarians. John Rowland had worked for the Rationalist Press Association
on the Literary Guide (precursor to the New Humanist
magazine) and wrote in The Freethinker
. During this time Cobell also met the feminist author Daisy L Hobman, who was the initiator of the Brighton and Hove Humanist Group. Denis was invited to give a talk at the Group's first public meeting.
Cobell started writing for secular / humanist and socialist publications from the late 1950s and also spoke at Speakers' Corner
in Hyde Park
during the 1960s and 1970’s. He also co edited the Hyde Park Socialist quarterly paper from 1968 to 1984; a regular contributor to this paper was FA Ridley, a former President of the National Secular Society
.
Cobell joined the Lewisham
Humanist Group in 1973 and has been the Hon Secretary since 1974.
He continues to officiate at many secular funerals, baby namings and weddings.
He was Humanist Chaplain to the Mayor of Lewisham 1998-99 and also the Humanist Chaplain to Greenwich Hospital, and Chaplain to UK Armed Forces Humanist Association.
He is a Director of the publishing company responsible for The Freethinker.
Cobell joined the Council of the National Secular Society in 1976, and became President in 1997. He stepped down as President in 2006 but remained on the Society's Council of Management. He has announced that he will retire from the Council in 2009.
Cobell was Treasurer of Brighton Young Liberals
in 1959-60; the Chairman was Navnit Dholakia, later Lord Dholakia, who was President of the Liberal Democrats
, 2000-2004.
, Guy’s Kings & St Thomas’ Gazette, New Humanist, Nursing Mirror, Nursing Standard
and Socialist Leader.
National Secular Society
The National Secular Society is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no-one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of religion. It was founded by Charles Bradlaugh in 1866...
from 1997 to 2006.
Early life
Cobell was born in HoveHove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
just before the Second World War. His parents were strict evangelical Christians; his father was a lay preacher. Cobell was baptised and attended St Nicolas’s Church of England School in Portslade
Portslade
Portslade is the name of an area of the city of Brighton and Hove, England. Portslade Village, the original settlement a mile inland to the north, was built up in the 16th century...
. Following the Eleven Plus
Eleven plus
In the United Kingdom, the 11-plus or Eleven plus is an examination administered to some students in their last year of primary education, governing admission to various types of secondary school. The name derives from the age group for secondary entry: 11–12 years...
Examinations he went to Hove County Grammar School for Boys.
Working Life
Cobell began his training as a nurse at Southlands Hospital, Shoreham-by-SeaShoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea is a small town, port and seaside resort in West Sussex, England. Shoreham-by-Sea railway station is located less than a mile from the town centre and London Gatwick Airport is away...
, in 1956. He moved to London in 1960 and worked at Guy’s Hospital for over 30 years, finally becoming a senior nurse. In 1994 he shifted from full time to part time, continuing to work for the National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
until he finally retired in December 2004 (after 48 years in the NHS).
Atheism, secularism and humanism
In his late teens, Denis Cobell spent time at Hove Public Library reading a variety of books including works by Bertrand RussellBertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
, who he was to meet at his North Wales home in 1959. He discovered both the Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
Church in New Road Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
and the Brighton and Hove Humanist
Secular humanism
Secular Humanism, alternatively known as Humanism , is a secular philosophy that embraces human reason, ethics, justice, and the search for human fulfillment...
Group. In terms of developing his atheist views, Denis Cobell had some interesting conversations. He talked with the Rev John Rowland of the Unitarians. John Rowland had worked for the Rationalist Press Association
Rationalist Association
The Rationalist Association, originally the Rationalist Press Association, is an organization in the United Kingdom, founded in 1899 by a group of free thinkers who were unhappy with the increasing political and decreasingly intellectual tenor of the British secularist movement...
on the Literary Guide (precursor to the New Humanist
New Humanist
New Humanist is a monthly magazine published by the Rationalist Association in the UK. It has been in print for 125 years; starting out life as Watts's Literary Guide, founded by C. A. Watts in November 1885....
magazine) and wrote in The Freethinker
The Freethinker (journal)
The Freethinker is a British secular humanist magazine, founded by G.W. Foote in 1881. It is the world's oldest surviving freethought publication.It has always taken an unapologetically atheist, anti-religious stance...
. During this time Cobell also met the feminist author Daisy L Hobman, who was the initiator of the Brighton and Hove Humanist Group. Denis was invited to give a talk at the Group's first public meeting.
Cobell started writing for secular / humanist and socialist publications from the late 1950s and also spoke at Speakers' Corner
Speakers' Corner
A Speakers' Corner is an area where open-air public speaking, debate and discussion are allowed. The original and most noted is in the north-east corner of Hyde Park in London, United Kingdom. Speakers there may speak on any subject, as long as the police consider their speeches lawful, although...
in Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
during the 1960s and 1970’s. He also co edited the Hyde Park Socialist quarterly paper from 1968 to 1984; a regular contributor to this paper was FA Ridley, a former President of the National Secular Society
National Secular Society
The National Secular Society is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no-one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of religion. It was founded by Charles Bradlaugh in 1866...
.
Cobell joined the Lewisham
Lewisham
Lewisham is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
Humanist Group in 1973 and has been the Hon Secretary since 1974.
He continues to officiate at many secular funerals, baby namings and weddings.
He was Humanist Chaplain to the Mayor of Lewisham 1998-99 and also the Humanist Chaplain to Greenwich Hospital, and Chaplain to UK Armed Forces Humanist Association.
He is a Director of the publishing company responsible for The Freethinker.
Cobell joined the Council of the National Secular Society in 1976, and became President in 1997. He stepped down as President in 2006 but remained on the Society's Council of Management. He has announced that he will retire from the Council in 2009.
Other activities
Cobell is a pacifist and is currently Chair of the Right to Refuse to Kill (RKK) Group for recognition of conscientious objectors. He was a signatory to the "Manifesto of the Third Camp Against US Militarism and Islamic Terrorism".Cobell was Treasurer of Brighton Young Liberals
National League of Young Liberals
The National League of Young Liberals , often just called the Young Liberals, was the youth wing of the British Liberal Party. It was founded in 1903 and by 1906 it had over three hundred branches. In 1934 it called for David Lloyd George to lead a Liberal New Deal revival based on the Yellow Book...
in 1959-60; the Chairman was Navnit Dholakia, later Lord Dholakia, who was President of the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
, 2000-2004.
Works and Articles
Over 300 articles and reviews in various journals - including The FreethinkerThe Freethinker (journal)
The Freethinker is a British secular humanist magazine, founded by G.W. Foote in 1881. It is the world's oldest surviving freethought publication.It has always taken an unapologetically atheist, anti-religious stance...
, Guy’s Kings & St Thomas’ Gazette, New Humanist, Nursing Mirror, Nursing Standard
Nursing Standard
Nursing Standard is a weekly professional magazine that contains peer-reviewed articles and research, news and careers information for the nursing field. It is published by RCN Publishing, a company run by the Royal College of Nursing and has a weekly circulation in excess of 70,000 copies...
and Socialist Leader.
Secularism and Humanism
- Alternative Christmas message. BBC Radio London, 25 December 1995. Transcript available online here:
- Right of Reply. The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, 2 November 1998. Available online here: - Review of 'Humanism' by Barbara SmokerBarbara SmokerBarbara Smoker is a British Humanist activist and freethought advocate. She is also former President of the National Secular Society , former Chair of the British Voluntary Euthanasia Society and current Honorary Vice President of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association in the United Kingdom.-...
. Gay and Lesbian Humanist, Autumn 1998. Available online here: - Review of 'All in the Mind', by Ludovic KennedyLudovic KennedySir Ludovic Henry Coverley Kennedy was a British journalist, broadcaster, humanist and author best known for re-examining cases such as the Lindbergh kidnapping and the murder convictions of Timothy Evans and Derek Bentley, and for his role in the abolition of the death penalty in the United...
. Gay and Lesbian Humanist, Summer 1999.Available online here: - "Losing my religion", Nursing Standard, Vol. 16 (20), 30 Jan - 5 Feb 2002, pp. 20–21.
Health
- "The origin and history of syphillis", Nursing Mirror, 17 September 1965, p. 120-.
- Du Plessis, P., Bor, R., Slack, D., Swash, E., Cobell, D. (1995). "Assessment of HIV Counselling and Social Care Services in a London Hospital", British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, Vol. 23 (1), pp. 45–51