Peter Calvocoressi
Encyclopedia
Peter John Ambrose Calvocoressi (17 November 1912 – 5 February 2010) was a British
political author, historian and a former intelligence officer at Bletchley Park
during World War II
.
, now in Pakistan
, to a family of Greek
origins from the island Chios
. His mother, Irene née Ralli, was descended from one of the founders of Ralli Brothers
, who were prominent Greek families of Chios
who came to London at the time of the Greek Diaspora.
When he was three months old, the family moved to Liverpool
, England
.
Calvocoressi's father Pandia had spent the first seven years of his life in Manchester and the next ten at San Stefano (on the outskirts of Istanbul
). He attended the Sorbonne
from the age of 17 for three years and then joined the family firm in New York. Pandia Calvocoressi and Irene Ralli married in London in 1910. Shortly afterwards Pandia was posted to India where Calvocoressi was born. His mother and maternal grandmother were both born in India but spent most of their lives in England.
In 1926 he was elected a scholar of Eton
in second place, a position which he retained for the greater part of the next five years. Switching from the standard Classical curriculum to History, he was taught by, among others, the young Robert Birley
. At Balliol College, Oxford
, in 1931–1934, he was tutored in Modern History mainly by B. H. Sumner and V. G. Galbraith and got a First.
in 1935 and worked in Chancery Chambers until the outbreak of World War II. He spent most of the war as an RAF intelligence
officer at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, becoming head of the Luftwaffe
section in 'Hut 3', which dealt with the interpretation and dissemination to commanders in the field, of intelligence derived from the decryption of Enigma
-enciphered messages ('Ultra
' intelligence). In summer 1945, he was accredited by British Intelligence to obtain evidence for all four Chief Prosecutors at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg
. As a member of the British prosecution team, he cross-examined former German Field Marshal Gerd Von Rundstedt during the trial. Calvocoressi later advised the US Chief Prosecutor (General Telford Taylor
), who had been his Bletchley colleague, in some of the American follow-up trials (1946–1949).
In 1950–1955 he worked at the Royal Institute for Foreign Affairs (Chatham House
), writing five volumes in the series of Annual Surveys of International Affairs which had been written between the wars by Professor Arnold Toynbee
. In 1955–1966 he was a partner in the publishing firms of Chatto and Windus
and the Hogarth Press
and in 1966–1973 Reader in International Relations at Sussex University
, a post which was created for him.
In 1973 he was enticed back to publishing by the offer of the newly-created post of Editor-in-Chief of Penguin Books
and was appointed Publisher and Chief Executive of Penguin in the following year, but fell victim to disagreements, etc. and was removed in 1976. Over this period he was for 10 years a part-time member of the United Nations
Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
, was Chairman of the Africa Bureau, the London Library
, Chios Charities and Open University
Enterprises Ltd. He also served on the governing bodies of Chatham House, the Institute of Strategic Studies and Amnesty
.
He wrote 20 books, mostly on contemporary history; one of these – World Politics Since 1945 – passed through nine editions. Threading My Way, an autobiography, appeared in 1994. He set private life before and above his career and never had cause to question this priority.
In 1990, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Open University.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
political author, historian and a former intelligence officer at Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Early years
Calvocoressi was born in KarachiKarachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, now in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, to a family of Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
origins from the island Chios
Chios
Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...
. His mother, Irene née Ralli, was descended from one of the founders of Ralli Brothers
Ralli Brothers
The five Ralli brothers, Zannis a.k.a. John , Augustus ,Pandia a.k.a. Zeus ,Toumazis , and...
, who were prominent Greek families of Chios
Chios
Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...
who came to London at the time of the Greek Diaspora.
When he was three months old, the family moved to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, 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...
.
Calvocoressi's father Pandia had spent the first seven years of his life in Manchester and the next ten at San Stefano (on the outskirts of Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
). He attended the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
from the age of 17 for three years and then joined the family firm in New York. Pandia Calvocoressi and Irene Ralli married in London in 1910. Shortly afterwards Pandia was posted to India where Calvocoressi was born. His mother and maternal grandmother were both born in India but spent most of their lives in England.
In 1926 he was elected a scholar of Eton
Eton 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"....
in second place, a position which he retained for the greater part of the next five years. Switching from the standard Classical curriculum to History, he was taught by, among others, the young Robert Birley
Robert Birley
Sir Robert Birley was an English educationalist who was head master of Charterhouse School, then Eton College, and an anti-apartheid campaigner.-Biography:...
. At Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
, in 1931–1934, he was tutored in Modern History mainly by B. H. Sumner and V. G. Galbraith and got a First.
Career
He was called to the BarCall to the bar
The Call to the Bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party, and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar"...
in 1935 and worked in Chancery Chambers until the outbreak of World War II. He spent most of the war as an RAF intelligence
RAF Intelligence
Intelligence services in the Royal Air Force is delivered by Officers of the Royal Air Force Operations Support Intelligence Branch and Airmen from the Intelligence Analyst Trade and Intelligence Analyst Trade...
officer at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, becoming head of the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
section in 'Hut 3', which dealt with the interpretation and dissemination to commanders in the field, of intelligence derived from the decryption of Enigma
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
-enciphered messages ('Ultra
Ultra
Ultra was the designation adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by "breaking" high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park. "Ultra" eventually became the standard...
' intelligence). In summer 1945, he was accredited by British Intelligence to obtain evidence for all four Chief Prosecutors at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
. As a member of the British prosecution team, he cross-examined former German Field Marshal Gerd Von Rundstedt during the trial. Calvocoressi later advised the US Chief Prosecutor (General Telford Taylor
Telford Taylor
Telford Taylor was an American lawyer best known for his role in the Counsel for the Prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials after World War II, his opposition to Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s, and his outspoken criticism of U.S...
), who had been his Bletchley colleague, in some of the American follow-up trials (1946–1949).
In 1950–1955 he worked at the Royal Institute for Foreign Affairs (Chatham House
Chatham House
Chatham House, formally known as The Royal Institute of International Affairs, is a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in London whose mission is to analyse and promote the understanding of major international issues and current affairs. It is regarded as one of the world's leading...
), writing five volumes in the series of Annual Surveys of International Affairs which had been written between the wars by Professor Arnold Toynbee
Arnold J. Toynbee
Arnold Joseph Toynbee CH was a British historian whose twelve-volume analysis of the rise and fall of civilizations, A Study of History, 1934–1961, was a synthesis of world history, a metahistory based on universal rhythms of rise, flowering and decline, which examined history from a global...
. In 1955–1966 he was a partner in the publishing firms of Chatto and Windus
Chatto and Windus
Chatto & Windus has been, since 1987, an imprint of Random House, publishers. It was originally an important publisher of books in London, founded in the Victorian era....
and the Hogarth Press
Hogarth Press
The Hogarth Press was founded in 1917 by Leonard Woolf and Virginia Woolf. It was named after their house in Richmond, in which they began hand-printing books....
and in 1966–1973 Reader in International Relations at Sussex University
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
, a post which was created for him.
In 1973 he was enticed back to publishing by the offer of the newly-created post of Editor-in-Chief of Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
and was appointed Publisher and Chief Executive of Penguin in the following year, but fell victim to disagreements, etc. and was removed in 1976. Over this period he was for 10 years a part-time member of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
The Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights was a think tank of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights...
, was Chairman of the Africa Bureau, the London Library
London Library
The London Library is the world's largest independent lending library, and the UK's leading literary institution. It is located in the City of Westminster, London, England, United Kingdom....
, Chios Charities and Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
Enterprises Ltd. He also served on the governing bodies of Chatham House, the Institute of Strategic Studies and Amnesty
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
.
He wrote 20 books, mostly on contemporary history; one of these – World Politics Since 1945 – passed through nine editions. Threading My Way, an autobiography, appeared in 1994. He set private life before and above his career and never had cause to question this priority.
In 1990, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Open University.