Leonard John Barnes MC and Bar (1895–1977) was a British anti-colonialist writer, journalist and educationalist.His archive papers are held b
SOAS Special Collections
/ref>

Life

Leonard Barnes was born in London on 21 July 1895. Educated at St Paul's School, he was awarded the Military Cross and Bar while serving with the King's Royal Rifle Corps during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He then attended University College, Oxford, where he studied Greats. After four years working for the Colonial Office, where his father had worked, he travelled to South Africa to work as a farmer and journalist. He was a leader-writer on the '' Cape Times'' and then assistant editor of the '' Johannesburg Star''. In 1932 Barnes returned to England as a freelance journalist, adult educator and political activist. Continuing to draw on his African experience, he wrote several books on colonial and development issues: ''The New Boer War'' (1932), ''Zulu Paraclete'' (1935), ''The Duty of Empire'' (1935) and ''Empire or Democracy'' (1939). In the 1935 General Election he stood unsuccessfully as a Labour candidate for

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

. From 1936 to 1945 he was a lecturer in education at the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

, where for several years he was also Warden of the Men's Hall of Residence there. Resigning in 1945, he concentrated on writing, producing two notable reports for the King George's Jubilee Trust, on the nature and objectives of youth work: ''Youth Service in an English County'' (1945) and ''The Outlook for Youth Work'' (1948). He also visited Malaya, serving on the 1947-8 Carr-Saunders Commission which established the

University of Malaya The Universiti Malaya (lit 'University of Malaya'; abbreviated UM) is a public university, public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest Malaysian institution of higher education, and was the only university in ...

. He visited Malaya again in 1950, chairing a commission on the education of the Malay community. In 1947 Barnes was appointed head of the Delegacy of Social Training at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. He raised the academic level at Barnett House, eventually turning it into a post-graduate institution. He encouraged the place of psychology and sociology in the curriculum. He also introduced dedicated vocational courses for personnel management, the child care and probation services, and social research. Barnes retired in 1962, and died on 10 March 1977, aged 81.

References

External links

* 1895 births 1977 deaths People educated at St Paul's School, London King's Royal Rifle Corps officers British Army personnel of World War I Alumni of University College, Oxford Recipients of the Military Cross {{UK-writer-stub