Lionel Elvin
Encyclopedia
Herbert Lionel Elvin (7 August 1905 - 14 June 2005) was an eminent educationist (b.Buckhurst Hill
, d. Cambridge).
Elvin was the son of Herbert Henry Elvin
, General Secretary of the National Union of Clerks, and brother of George, who became General Secretary of the Association of Cinematograph Television and Allied Technicians
.
He studied at Southend High School for Boys
, for which he wrote the lyrics for the school song, and Trinity Hall, Cambridge
, where he achieved first class honours in English and History. He was also President of the Cambridge Union Society
and an accomplished athlete, representing Cambridge in the half-mile against Oxford in 1927.
After a two-year Commonwealth Fund Fellowship at Yale
, Elvin returned to Trinity Hall in 1930 as the college's first Fellow with responsibility for teaching English. He became the Senior Treasurer of the then newly-formed Cambridge University Labour Club in Easter Term 1934. In 1934, he also married Mona Bedortha (died 1997; one son).
His interest in education was broadened by membership of Cambridge Town Council and by the work of Henry Morris, chief education officer for Cambridgeshire, who was the creator of "village colleges" in the county. Elvin was also active in the Workers' Educational Association and served as Treasurer of its Eastern District.
Elvin was a man of the left, a radical and a "non-Christian"; his adherence to his principles led him to refuse numerous honours, although he did accept the honorary fellowships awarded to him by Trinity Hall and the Institute of Education. He was a person of great charm and modesty (his Who's Who entry included under recreations "most games indifferently").
Elvin was a tireless worker and active in numerous educational causes, for example:
He had one of the most distinguished and varied careers in education of the 20th century. He was:-
His Second World War service was in the Air Ministry and in the American Division of the Ministry of Information, but in 1944 he moved to a very different environment with his appointment as Principal of Ruskin College, Oxford. His chief rival for the post was Richard Crossman
. In his autobiography, Encounters with Education (1987), Elvin, who had stood unsuccessfully as the Labour parliamentary candidate for Cambridge University in the election of 1935, recorded, "I do not think any five years in my career were more enjoyable than those I spent in Ruskin."
Elvin visited the United States
on numerous occasions, but his final years were spent at his home in Bulstrode Gardens, Cambridge.
Buckhurst Hill
Buckhurst Hill is an affluent suburban town in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. Located adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London, it forms part of the Greater London Urban Area.- Overview :...
, d. Cambridge).
Elvin was the son of Herbert Henry Elvin
Herbert Henry Elvin
Herbert Henry Elvin was a British trade unionist.Born in Eckington, Derbyshire, Elvin left school at the age of 14, although he later studied with the People's Palace, Birkbeck College and the City of London College...
, General Secretary of the National Union of Clerks, and brother of George, who became General Secretary of the Association of Cinematograph Television and Allied Technicians
Association of Cinematograph Television and Allied Technicians
The Association of Cinematograph Television and Allied Technicians was a trade union in the United Kingdom.The union was founded by technicians at the Gaumont British Studios in 1933 as the Association of Cinematograph Technicians...
.
He studied at Southend High School for Boys
Southend High School for Boys
Southend High School for Boys, also known by its acronym SHSB, is a selective secondary Academy Grammar school along Prittlewell Chase in Prittlewell, in the north-west of Southend-on-Sea, England, south-west of the roundabout of the A127 and A1159...
, for which he wrote the lyrics for the school song, and Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...
, where he achieved first class honours in English and History. He was also President of the Cambridge Union Society
Cambridge Union Society
The Cambridge Union Society, commonly referred to as simply "the Cambridge Union" or "the Union," is a debating society in Cambridge, England and is the largest society at the University of Cambridge. Since its founding in 1815, the Union has developed a worldwide reputation as a noted symbol of...
and an accomplished athlete, representing Cambridge in the half-mile against Oxford in 1927.
After a two-year Commonwealth Fund Fellowship at Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
, Elvin returned to Trinity Hall in 1930 as the college's first Fellow with responsibility for teaching English. He became the Senior Treasurer of the then newly-formed Cambridge University Labour Club in Easter Term 1934. In 1934, he also married Mona Bedortha (died 1997; one son).
His interest in education was broadened by membership of Cambridge Town Council and by the work of Henry Morris, chief education officer for Cambridgeshire, who was the creator of "village colleges" in the county. Elvin was also active in the Workers' Educational Association and served as Treasurer of its Eastern District.
Elvin was a man of the left, a radical and a "non-Christian"; his adherence to his principles led him to refuse numerous honours, although he did accept the honorary fellowships awarded to him by Trinity Hall and the Institute of Education. He was a person of great charm and modesty (his Who's Who entry included under recreations "most games indifferently").
Elvin was a tireless worker and active in numerous educational causes, for example:
- President of the English New Education Fellowship
- President of the Council for Education in World Citizenship
- Chair of the Commonwealth Education Liaison Committee.
He had one of the most distinguished and varied careers in education of the 20th century. He was:-
- Fellow, Trinity Hall, Cambridge 1930-1944, Honorary Fellow 1980
- 1944-1950 Principal of Ruskin College, Oxford
- 1950-1956 Director of Department of Education at Unesco in Paris
- Professor of Education in Tropical Areas, Institute of Education, London University 1956-58
- 1958-1973 when he retired: Director of the Institute of Education at London University
- Emeritus Professor of Education 1973-2005, Honorary Fellow 1993
His Second World War service was in the Air Ministry and in the American Division of the Ministry of Information, but in 1944 he moved to a very different environment with his appointment as Principal of Ruskin College, Oxford. His chief rival for the post was Richard Crossman
Richard Crossman
Richard Howard Stafford Crossman OBE was a British author and Labour Party politician who was a Cabinet Minister under Harold Wilson, and was the editor of the New Statesman. A prominent socialist intellectual, he became one of the Labour Party's leading Zionists and anti-communists...
. In his autobiography, Encounters with Education (1987), Elvin, who had stood unsuccessfully as the Labour parliamentary candidate for Cambridge University in the election of 1935, recorded, "I do not think any five years in my career were more enjoyable than those I spent in Ruskin."
Elvin visited the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on numerous occasions, but his final years were spent at his home in Bulstrode Gardens, Cambridge.
Publications
- 1941: Men of America
- 1949: An Introduction to the Study of Literature
- 1965 Education and Contemporary Society
- 1977: The Place of Commonsense in Educational Thought