Sir Alan Patrick Herbert, CH (usually writing as A. P. Herbert or A.P.H.) (September 24, 1890 - November 11, 1971) was an English humorist, novelist, playwright and law reform activist. He served as a Member of Parliament for Oxford University for fifteen years, five of which he combined with service with the Royal Navy. 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. [edit] Education and public career He was educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford, obtaining a first class honours degree in Jurisprudence. He was called 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 Navy during the First World War. He survived Gallipoli and was mentioned in despatches. He drew on that experience for his novel The Secret Battle which was published in 1919. During the Second World War in addition to his parliamentary duties, he served 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 without being an officer; he remained Petty Officer Herbert from 1940 to 1945.
the doctor
The doctor took my shirt away;
He did it for the best;
He said, "It's very cold today,"...[read poem]
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He did it for the best;
He said, "It's very cold today,"...
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