John Trevelyan was Secretary of the Board of the British Board of Film Censors from 1958–1971.

Trevelyan was born in Bromley

Bromley

Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...

, England

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...

. He brought a more liberal approach to the role of Chief Censor than his predecessors claiming: "We are paid to have dirty minds". However his approach was harshly criticised by some. According to film director Roy Ward Baker

Roy Ward Baker

Roy Ward Baker , born Roy Horace Baker, was an English film director, credited as Roy Baker for much of his career. His best known film is A Night to Remember which won a Golden Globe for Best English-Language Foreign Film in 1959...

:
Trevelyan wrote a book on his experiences entitled What the Censor Saw (1973).

Trevelyan was a critic of the early Bond films; when Goldeneye

GoldenEye

GoldenEye is the seventeenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Martin Campbell and is the first film in the series not to take story elements from the works of novelist Ian Fleming...

was released in 1995, the villain of the film was named Alec Trevelyan.

His daughter, psychotherapist Sarah Trevelyan, married murderer and artist Jimmy Boyle

Jimmy Boyle (artist)

Jimmy Boyle is a Scottish sculptor, novelist and convicted criminal.In 1967 he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of another gangland figure, William "Babs" Rooney...

 in 1980. They separated in 2001.

Trevelyan died in Croydon

London Borough of Croydon

The London Borough of Croydon is a London borough in South London, England and is part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the largest London borough by population. It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name...

, Greater London

Greater London

Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...

, aged 83.