A. P. Herbert

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sir Alan Patrick Herbert, CH (usually writing as A. P. Herbert or A.P.H.) (September 24, 1890 - November 11, 1971) was an English humourist, novelist, playwright and law reform activist. He served as a Member of Parliament for Oxford University for fifteen years, five of which he spent on active service with the Royal Navy

Contents 1 Early life 2 Education and public career 3 Reforming the laws 4 "Misleading Cases" 5 Novels and other writings 6 His love of and involvement with the River Thames 7 References by other authors 8 References

[edit] Early life

He was born in Ashtead, Surrey, to Patrick Herbert, a civil servant, and Beatrice Herbert (née Selwyn^[1]). His mother died at an early age, and he was educated at Winchester College.

[edit] Education and public career

He studied at New College, Oxford, without taking a degree; and was admitted to the bar in 1918, but never practiced.

In 1935, with the aid of Frank Pakenham, he became a Member of Parliament for Oxford University, from where he was returned until the University seats were abolished in 1950.

He was sent to Newfoundland and Labrador in 1943 with Derrick Gunston and Charles Ammon as part of a Parliamentary commission to investigate the future of the dominion, and supported the cause of independence over Confederation as a result. He was knighted in 1945.

He served in the Royal Naval Division during the First World War; and during the Second World War in the Royal Navy, on patrol-boats in the Thames. He may have been the first serving Member of Parliament to serve in the Royal Navy whilst not an officer; he remained Petty-Officer Herbert from 1940 to 1945.

[edit] Reforming the laws

Throughout his career he lobbied for reform of several laws which he felt to be outdated, among these the legislation on divorce and obscenity.

A popular topic of his was the remarkably complex British licensing laws of the time, and in 1935 - as a protest - he became the first person to lay a criminal information against the House of Commons, for selling alcohol without a licence. (The High Court ruled that it was exempt through Parliamentary privilege.)

Giving his maiden speech on his second day in the House, he declared rashly that he planned to introduce the Matrimonial Causes Bill, to reform divorce, and that he would have it passed before that Parliament was over. In the event, it was passed - somewhat strengthed by the House of Lords - in 1938 as the Matrimonial Causes Act 1937. This, for the first time, allowed divorce without requiring proof of adultery. He also advocated reform of the gambling laws and the repeal of the entertainments tax, among other causes.

[edit] "Misleading Cases"

His humorous writing appeared often in Punch magazine, where the work for which he is best remembered – his series of Misleading Cases in the Common Law – was first published. These were satirical pieces, in the form of "law reports" or "judgments", on various aspects of the British legal and judicial system. They often had a sharp political point beneath their satire, and tied into his personal crusades against obsolescent legislation. Many of them featured the exploits of Albert Haddock, a tireless and veteran litigant. (Herbert often referred to himself as "A.P. Haddock" in Punch magazine skits, whether or not these had a courtroom setting.)

Although entirely fictional, they are often quoted admiringly and with full knowledge in actual judicial decisions; and are also the subject of academic research.^[2]

Due to their realism they were on several occasions mistakenly reported by newspapers both in Britain and elsewhere as factual. One of the "cases", supposedly establishing a novel crime of "doing what you like", was sharply criticized by an American law review article, whose author failed to note its entire absurdity.

Over his lifetime Herbert published five basic collections of the Misleading Cases, titled Misleading Cases in the Common Law, More Misleading Cases, Still More Misleading Cases, Codd's Last Case and Bardot M.P.?. Stray cases also appear in his collections of miscellaneous humorous essays, such as General Cargo. Virtually all the cases were assembled into two omnibus volumes, Uncommon Law in 1935 and More Uncommon Law in 1982; a shorter selection, Wigs At Work, appeared in 1966. The BBC successfully adapted them for television as three series of A P Herbert's Misleading Cases (1967, 1968 and 1971), with Roy Dotrice as Haddock and Alastair Sim as the judge, Mr Justice Swallow.

[edit] Novels and other writings

He wrote eight novels, including The Water Gypsies, The Secret Battle, and Holy Deadlock; and fifteen plays.

In addition to his fiction, Herbert wrote What a Word! in 1935, continuing his campaign in Punch for better use of English, including a section on 'Plain English' more than a decade ahead of Sir Ernest Gowers' more celebrated work. Characteristically Herbert uses humour to make his serious points about good writing.

[edit] His love of and involvement with the River Thames

A P Herbert loved the River Thames. He lived beside it at Hammersmith, West London. He was a Conservator (a member of the Thames Conservancy Board) and a Freeman of the Company of River Thames Watermen and Lightermen. In 1966 he wrote "The Thames" (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) in which he explored the 'machinery' of the river in all its aspects.

[edit] References by other authors

In his 1957 article Over Seventy, P. G. Wodehouse, lamenting the decline of the humorist wrote

“I want to see an A. P. Herbert on every street corner, an Alex Atkinson in every local.”

[edit] References

1. ^ Beatrice was the daughter of Sir Charles Selwyn, a Lord of Appeal, himself the brother of Bishop George Selwyn
2. ^ "Rumpelheimer v. Haddock: Port to Port", by Joseph C. Sweeney, e-text at University of Texas.

• Reginald Pound, 'Herbert, Sir Alan Patrick (1890–1971)', rev. Katherine Mullin, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2005 accessed 25 Aug 2006

"Independent Member"- A.P. Herbert, October 1970 (ISBN 0-09308-880-9)