Peter Nailor
Encyclopedia
Professor Peter Nailor was a civil servant university teacher, intellectual entrepreneur and raconteur, who served as Professor of Politics at the University of Lancaster, Professor of History at the Royal Naval College
Old Royal Naval College
The Old Royal Naval College is the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich, a World Heritage Site in Greenwich, London, described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation as being of “outstanding universal value” and reckoned to be the “finest and most...

, Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...

, and Provost of Gresham College
Gresham College
Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in central London, England. It was founded in 1597 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham and today it hosts over 140 free public lectures every year within the City of London.-History:Sir Thomas Gresham,...

.

Early life and education

The eldest son of Leslie Nailor and his wife Lily Matilda Jones Nailor, he was educated at Mercers' School
Mercers' School
The Mercers' School was a private school in the City of London, England, with a history going back to at least 1542, which closed in 1959.After the disestablishment of the Hospital of St Thomas of Acon in 1538, the hospital's land was bought by the Mercers' Company , and the school was founded in...

 and studied at Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, located at the southern end of Parks Road in central Oxford. It was founded by Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, wealthy Somerset landowners, during the reign of King James I...

, where he obtained his bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in 1952 and his master of arts degree in 1955.

Civil Service Career

Nailor was a British civil servant for seventeen years. He initially joined the Home Civil Service in 1952 and was first appointed Assistant Principal at the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

. He then served as First Lord's representative on the Admiralty Interview Board
Admiralty Interview Board
The Admiralty Interview Board is the instrument of Officer selection for the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marines Reserve, and Royal Fleet Auxiliary...

, 1960–62; a member of the Polaris
UGM-27 Polaris
The Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fuel nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile built during the Cold War by Lockheed Corporation of California for the United States Navy....

 Executive, 1962–1967; and Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....

, 1967-1969. In his lasting posting, he dealt with future planning in Defence Secretariat 22, implementing the recommendations of Lord Fulton's Report.

Academic career

On leaving the Civil Service in 1969, Nailor became Professor of Politics at Lancaster University
Lancaster University
Lancaster University, officially The University of Lancaster, is a leading research-intensive British university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established by Royal Charter in 1964 and initially based in St Leonard's Gate until moving to a purpose-built 300 acre campus at...

 until 1977, when he was appointed Professor of History and International relations at the Royal Naval College. While in this post he served additionally as Dean at the oyal Naval College, Greenwich, in 1882-84 and 1986–1988, as well as Chairman, British International Studies Association
British International Studies Association
The British International Studies Association is a learned society that promotes the study of international relations and related subjects through teaching, research, and facilitation of contact between scholars. BISA has an international membership where 40 countries are represented. The current...

, 1983-1986. He held visiting research appointments and professorships in Canada, Australia, and India. He served as a member of the Poltiical Science Committee of the Social Science Research Council
Social Science Research Council
The Social Science Research Council is a U.S.-based independent nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing research in the social sciences and related disciplines...

, 1975–1981; the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...

 advisory panel on arms control and disarmament, 1975–1988; and the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....

 advisory panel of historical records, 1979-1988.

In 1988, Nailor was appointed Provost of Gresham College
Gresham College
Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in central London, England. It was founded in 1597 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham and today it hosts over 140 free public lectures every year within the City of London.-History:Sir Thomas Gresham,...

 and held that position at his death in 1996 at the age of 67.

Published works

  • The future of Britain's deterrent force by Peter Nailor and Jonathan Alford. London: International Institute for Strategic Studies
    International Institute for Strategic Studies
    The International Institute for Strategic Studies is a British research institute in the area of international affairs. It describes itself as "the world’s leading authority on political-military conflict"...

    , 1980.
  • The Soviet Union and the Third World, edited by E. J. Feuchtwanger and Peter Nailor. London: Macmillan, 1981.
  • The Nassau connection: the organisation and management of the British POLARIS
    UGM-27 Polaris
    The Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fuel nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile built during the Cold War by Lockheed Corporation of California for the United States Navy....

     project
    , London: H.M.S.O, 1988.
  • Learning from precedent in Whitehall
    Whitehall
    Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...

    . London: Institute of Contemporary British History/Royal Institute of Public Administration, 1991.

Source

  • Obituary, The Independent, 10 April 1996
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