Sub-Lieutenant Alan (AP) Herbert
Hawke Bn, Royal Naval Division, 1890-1971
Alan Herbert started writing for the humorous magazine Punch while completing a law degree at Oxford.
He joined the RND immediately after the outbreak of war in 1914. His battalion went to Gallipoli in May 1915. On the 4th June 1915 they were in the reserve but very soon needed to challenge the fierce Ottoman counter attacks. At Gallipoli Herbert was mentioned in dispatches and wrote many poems.
He later drew on his war experiences for a remarkable novel ‘The Secret Battle’ about an officer who was shot in France for cowardice ‘and he was one of the bravest men I ever knew.’ He also wrote WW1’s most famous insulting poem about a general.
He became member of parliament for Oxford University in 1935 and was knighted in 1945 for his successful parliamentary campaigns, backed with satirical writings, against outdated divorce, licensing and other laws.
He continued working as a writer and campaigner for many years, achieving some fame when his Misleading Cases TV series, highlighting his many books on daft parts of the English law, was broadcast in 1968.
