James Cobban
Encyclopedia
Sir James Macdonald Cobban, CBE
, DL
(14 September 1910 – 19 April 1999) was an English
educator and headmaster, as well as a prominent lay leader in the Church of England
. He was the headmaster of Abingdon School
from 1947 to 1970 and is largely credited with bringing the school from relative obscurity to national recognition in Britain.
, Lincolnshire
, the second son and youngest of five children of Alexander Macdonald Cobban (1864–1956), surveyor for Scunthorpe, and his wife, Kate Helen Rowbottom (1875–1958). He received his early education at Pocklington School in Yorkshire
after being granted a £50 scholarship. He left Pocklington in 1929 and was granted a scholarship to Jesus College, Cambridge
, where he read classics and had great success. Cobban achieved a double first in the Classical Tripos examinations, receiving the Thirwell Medal and Gladstone Prize
, and was awarded marks second only to his contemporary Enoch Powell
. Cobban was also given a Sandys studentship which financed him for six months at the University of Vienna
and for six months at the British School in Rome. In 1932, at the University of Vienna
, he witnessed a Jewish student being chased by a gang of young fascists wielding cudgels, an experience which Cobban described in his memoir as "seared in my mind".
In 1933 Cobban took a position teaching Latin and Greek at King Edward VI School, Southampton
. Whilst there, he wrote a Latin reader, "Civis Romanus", which was widely used in the latter half of the 20th century, selling over half a million copies. In 1936, he took a post at Dulwich College
, where he worked until the outbreak of the Second World War. During the war, Cobban served with the Directorate of Military Intelligence and rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. An attack of appendicitis
during the run-up to D-Day
prevented his participation in the Normandy invasion, and he arrived in France six days after the Allied landing. Many of Cobban's responsibilities before and after the invasion involved planning for the occupation of Germany. When that became a reality, Cobban was assigned to help organise local governments in Germany on a democratic basis. In his memoir, he fondly recalls working alongside German civil servants, occasionally using Latin as a common tongue when his German and their English failed.
Cobban briefly returned to Dulwich in 1946 before arriving at Abingdon School
) as Headmaster in 1947. He served for twenty-four years as headmaster, transforming it from a provincial grammar school of 250 boys into Abingdon School
, a direct grant school drawing pupils from families associated with Oxford and the Atomic Energy Research Establishment
at Harwell, as well as from the local area, and numbering, when he retired in 1970, 630 boys. This was exactly — and intentionally — ten times the number for which John Roysse
had re-founded it in 1563.
Cobban had a number of interests and held a number of appointments outside Abingdon School; from 1966 he was Deputy Lieutenant of Berkshire, and from 1974 of Oxfordshire. A JP from 1950, he chaired the Abingdon bench from 1964 to 1974. In 1971 he conducted an inquiry into the church in Bedford for Bishop Robert Runcie
. From 1970 to 1985 he represented the Oxford diocese on the general synod (where he served from 1979 on the panel of chairmen), and from 1975 to 1982 he was vice-president of the diocesan synod. He wrote a regular column for his diocesan magazine. He governed numerous schools and colleges and from 1972 to 1982, the last six of those years as deputy chairman, was on the committee of the Governing Bodies Association. As a principal architect of the assisted places scheme, he was knighted in 1982.
) and one son (John, who died at the age of two from a fall). Lorna died of bronchiectasis
in 1961, leaving James to raise his four daughters on his own, although his sister later gave up her own career as an educator to assist in the children's care.
and in later life a prominent lay leader. He served in the General Synod
for fifteen years, and for three years served as its chairman, the highest position a layman can hold in the Church of England. Cobban preached and officiated in his retirement at a group of six parishes in Dorset
from 1986 to 1997.
In the epigraph of his memoir One Small Head he wrote, "I may not be a very good Christian, but I cannot imagine any life without the Christian church."
in 1971, moved to Steventon
, then to Sherborne
, and finally to sheltered housing run by one of his daughters in Yeovil
. He died at Tyndale Nursing Home, Yeovil, Somerset, on 19 April 1999, and his ashes were interred on 26 April in Trent churchyard, Somerset.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, DL
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
(14 September 1910 – 19 April 1999) was an English
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...
educator and headmaster, as well as a prominent lay leader in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. He was the headmaster of Abingdon School
Abingdon School
Abingdon School is a British day and boarding independent school for boys situated in Abingdon, Oxfordshire , previously known as Roysse's School. In 1998 a formal merger took place between Abingdon School and Josca's, a preparatory school four miles to the west at Frilford...
from 1947 to 1970 and is largely credited with bringing the school from relative obscurity to national recognition in Britain.
Biography
Cobban was born in ScunthorpeScunthorpe
Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, the second son and youngest of five children of Alexander Macdonald Cobban (1864–1956), surveyor for Scunthorpe, and his wife, Kate Helen Rowbottom (1875–1958). He received his early education at Pocklington School in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
after being granted a £50 scholarship. He left Pocklington in 1929 and was granted a scholarship to Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
, where he read classics and had great success. Cobban achieved a double first in the Classical Tripos examinations, receiving the Thirwell Medal and Gladstone Prize
Gladstone Prize
The Gladstone Prize is an annual prize awarded by the Royal Historical Society to debut authors for a history book published in Britain on any topic which is not primarily British history. The prize is named in honour of William Ewart Gladstone and was made possible by a grant by the Gladstone...
, and was awarded marks second only to his contemporary Enoch Powell
Enoch Powell
John Enoch Powell, MBE was a British politician, classical scholar, poet, writer, and soldier. He served as a Conservative Party MP and Minister of Health . He attained most prominence in 1968, when he made the controversial Rivers of Blood speech in opposition to mass immigration from...
. Cobban was also given a Sandys studentship which financed him for six months at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
and for six months at the British School in Rome. In 1932, at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
, he witnessed a Jewish student being chased by a gang of young fascists wielding cudgels, an experience which Cobban described in his memoir as "seared in my mind".
In 1933 Cobban took a position teaching Latin and Greek at King Edward VI School, Southampton
King Edward VI School, Southampton
King Edward VI School, often referred to as King Edward's, or simply KES, is a selective co-educational independent day School located in Southampton, United Kingdom and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It was founded in 1553, after the death of William Capon , who...
. Whilst there, he wrote a Latin reader, "Civis Romanus", which was widely used in the latter half of the 20th century, selling over half a million copies. In 1936, he took a post at Dulwich College
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
, where he worked until the outbreak of the Second World War. During the war, Cobban served with the Directorate of Military Intelligence and rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. An attack of appendicitis
Appendicitis
Appendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is classified as a medical emergency and many cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of the risk of rupture leading to...
during the run-up to D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
prevented his participation in the Normandy invasion, and he arrived in France six days after the Allied landing. Many of Cobban's responsibilities before and after the invasion involved planning for the occupation of Germany. When that became a reality, Cobban was assigned to help organise local governments in Germany on a democratic basis. In his memoir, he fondly recalls working alongside German civil servants, occasionally using Latin as a common tongue when his German and their English failed.
Cobban briefly returned to Dulwich in 1946 before arriving at Abingdon School
Abingdon School
Abingdon School is a British day and boarding independent school for boys situated in Abingdon, Oxfordshire , previously known as Roysse's School. In 1998 a formal merger took place between Abingdon School and Josca's, a preparatory school four miles to the west at Frilford...
) as Headmaster in 1947. He served for twenty-four years as headmaster, transforming it from a provincial grammar school of 250 boys into Abingdon School
Abingdon School
Abingdon School is a British day and boarding independent school for boys situated in Abingdon, Oxfordshire , previously known as Roysse's School. In 1998 a formal merger took place between Abingdon School and Josca's, a preparatory school four miles to the west at Frilford...
, a direct grant school drawing pupils from families associated with Oxford and the Atomic Energy Research Establishment
Atomic Energy Research Establishment
The Atomic Energy Research Establishment near Harwell, Oxfordshire, was the main centre for atomic energy research and development in the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1990s.-Founding:...
at Harwell, as well as from the local area, and numbering, when he retired in 1970, 630 boys. This was exactly — and intentionally — ten times the number for which John Roysse
John Roysse
John Roysse was a Mercer, , who was born in 1500 or 1501 and raised in Abingdon, Berkshire . He is best known as being the benefactor of Abingdon School in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.- Biography :...
had re-founded it in 1563.
Cobban had a number of interests and held a number of appointments outside Abingdon School; from 1966 he was Deputy Lieutenant of Berkshire, and from 1974 of Oxfordshire. A JP from 1950, he chaired the Abingdon bench from 1964 to 1974. In 1971 he conducted an inquiry into the church in Bedford for Bishop Robert Runcie
Robert Runcie
Robert Alexander Kennedy Runcie, Baron Runcie, PC, MC was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991.-Early life:...
. From 1970 to 1985 he represented the Oxford diocese on the general synod (where he served from 1979 on the panel of chairmen), and from 1975 to 1982 he was vice-president of the diocesan synod. He wrote a regular column for his diocesan magazine. He governed numerous schools and colleges and from 1972 to 1982, the last six of those years as deputy chairman, was on the committee of the Governing Bodies Association. As a principal architect of the assisted places scheme, he was knighted in 1982.
Marriage and children
Cobban married Lorna Marlow in 1942 and had four daughters (Mary, Diana, Hilary, and HelenaHelena Cobban
Helena Cobban is a British-American writer and researcher on international relations, with special interests in the Middle East, the international system, and transitional justice. In March 2010, she founded a new book-publishing company, Just World Publishing, LLC...
) and one son (John, who died at the age of two from a fall). Lorna died of bronchiectasis
Bronchiectasis
Bronchiectasis is a disease state defined by localized, irreversible dilation of part of the bronchial tree caused by destruction of the muscle and elastic tissue. It is classified as an obstructive lung disease, along with emphysema, bronchitis, asthma, and cystic fibrosis...
in 1961, leaving James to raise his four daughters on his own, although his sister later gave up her own career as an educator to assist in the children's care.
Religious views
Cobban was a lifelong member of the Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
and in later life a prominent lay leader. He served in the General Synod
General Synod
-Church of England:In the Church of England, the General Synod, which was established in 1970 , is the legislative body of the Church.-Episcopal Church of the United States:...
for fifteen years, and for three years served as its chairman, the highest position a layman can hold in the Church of England. Cobban preached and officiated in his retirement at a group of six parishes in 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...
from 1986 to 1997.
In the epigraph of his memoir One Small Head he wrote, "I may not be a very good Christian, but I cannot imagine any life without the Christian church."
Retirement
Cobban was appointed CBECBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
in 1971, moved to Steventon
Steventon, Oxfordshire
Steventon is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, about south of Abingdon and a similar distance west of Didcot. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred to Oxfordshire.-History:...
, then to Sherborne
Sherborne
Sherborne is a market town in northwest Dorset, England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The A30 road, which connects London to Penzance, runs through the town. The population of the town is 9,350 . 27.1% of the population is aged 65 or...
, and finally to sheltered housing run by one of his daughters in Yeovil
Yeovil
Yeovil is a town and civil parish in south Somerset, England. The parish had a population of 27,949 at the 2001 census, although the wider urban area had a population of 42,140...
. He died at Tyndale Nursing Home, Yeovil, Somerset, on 19 April 1999, and his ashes were interred on 26 April in Trent churchyard, Somerset.
Works
- Civis Romanus, a collection of readings for beginning students of Latin co-written with Ronald Colebourn, continuously in print from 1936–1986 and recently reprinted. ISBN 0-86516-569-6.
- Senate & Provinces, 78 - 49 B.B., (Cambridge University Press, 1935). Now out-of-print.
- One Small Head, privately printed memoir, 1998. Now out-of-print.