Richard Ollard
Encyclopedia
Richard Ollard was an English
historian
and biographer. He is best known for his work on the English Restoration
period.
where he was a King's Scholar. He joined the Navy
during the Second World War and won an exhibition to New College, Oxford
at its conclusion. For twelve years from 1948 to 1959 Ollard taught history at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich in London
. In 1960 he joined the publisher Collins
as a senior editor, where he worked until his retirement in 1983. After his retirement from Collins he continued to research and publish widely and lived in Morecombelake, Dorset
. He died of leukaemia on 21 January 2007. Richard was married to Mary (née Riddell) for 53 years & leaves 3 children & 5 grandchildren.
The book about Rowse
sparked some controversy in literary circles. A negative review published by the London Review of Books
(27 April 2000) prompted this reply by Ollard.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and biographer. He is best known for his work on the English Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
period.
Life
Richard Laurence Ollard was born in Yorkshire on 9 November 1923, the son of Rev Dr S L Ollard, an Anglican clergyman. He was educated at Eton CollegeEton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
where he was a King's Scholar. He joined the Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
during the Second World War and won an exhibition to New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
at its conclusion. For twelve years from 1948 to 1959 Ollard taught history at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich in London
London
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...
. In 1960 he joined the publisher Collins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
as a senior editor, where he worked until his retirement in 1983. After his retirement from Collins he continued to research and publish widely and lived in Morecombelake, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
. He died of leukaemia on 21 January 2007. Richard was married to Mary (née Riddell) for 53 years & leaves 3 children & 5 grandchildren.
Interests and achievements
- In 1992 he was awarded the Caird Medal by the Trustees of the National Maritime MuseumNational Maritime MuseumThe National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...
. - In 1997 he was joint winner of the Heywood Hill Prize for a lifetime's contribution to the pleasure of reading.
- Fellow of the Royal Society of LiteratureRoyal Society of LiteratureThe Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
(FRSL) - Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of LondonSociety of Antiquaries of LondonThe Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
(FSA) - Past Vice President of the Navy Records SocietyNavy Records SocietyThe Navy Records Society was established in 1893 as a scholarly society to publish historical documents that illustrated the history of the Royal Navy. Professor Sir John Knox Laughton and Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge were the key leaders who organized the Society, basing it on the model of earlier...
- An honorary member of the Samuel Pepys Club
Selected publications
- Pepys: A Biography, about Samuel PepysSamuel PepysSamuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
- Clarendon and His Friends, about Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of ClarendonEdward Hyde, 1st Earl of ClarendonEdward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two English monarchs, Mary II and Queen Anne.-Early life:...
- Cromwell's Earl, a biography of Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of SandwichEdward Montagu, 1st Earl of SandwichEdward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, KG was an English Infantry officer who later became a naval officer. He was the only surviving son of Sir Sidney Montagu, and was brought up at Hinchingbrooke House....
- The Escape of Charles II, which combines historical rigour with a lively account of the period and the immediate aftermath of the Battle of WorcesterBattle of WorcesterThe Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II...
- This War without an Enemy: A History of the English Civil Wars
- The Image of the King: Charles I and Charles II
- Man of War: Sir Robert Holmes and the Restoration Navy
- An English Education: A perspective of Eton, about his school Eton CollegeEton CollegeEton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
- Dorset, a historical guide to the county of DorsetDorsetDorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
in England - Fisher and Cunningham: A Study of the Personalities of the Churchill Era
- Man of Contradictions: A Life of A. L. Rowse, Penguin, 1999.
The book about Rowse
A. L. Rowse
Alfred Leslie Rowse, CH, FBA , known professionally as A. L. Rowse and to friends and family as Leslie, was a British historian from Cornwall. He is perhaps best known for his work on Elizabethan England and his poetry about Cornwall. He was also a Shakespearean scholar and biographer...
sparked some controversy in literary circles. A negative review published by the London Review of Books
London Review of Books
The London Review of Books is a fortnightly British magazine of literary and intellectual essays.-History:The LRB was founded in 1979, during the year-long lock-out at The Times, by publisher A...
(27 April 2000) prompted this reply by Ollard.
- I am sorry that so interesting and well-written an article as Mary BeardMary Beard (classicist)Winifred Mary Beard is Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of Newnham College. She is the Classics editor of the Times Literary Supplement, and author of the blog "", which appears in The Times as a regular column...
's should convey so bitterly one-sided an impression of my book on A.L. Rowse. His encouragement of fellow writers, his practical kindness and hospitality towards them, certainly bulked larger in my mind when I was writing it than the splenetic egocentricity that led him into all too well publicised excesses.
- It is humiliating for any author to have failed so signally in what he set out to do. I am reminded of Congreve's witticism that bad portraitists are obliged to write the name of their sitters at the bottom. So may I, likewise, ask LRB readers to accept that my view of Rowse is emphatically not that presented by Mary Beard.
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- Richard Ollard