Part 2 (Obituaries) - King's College - University of Cambridge

216
OBITUARIES
Paul was the son of two Church of England missionaries who had met in
Paraguay. He was born in West Hartlepool, on 11 May 1917, where his
father served as a vicar after returning to England. It was Paul’s father who
first instructed him in Greek, and did it well enough that the young Paul
managed to win a scholarship to study Classics at Winchester. From
Winchester he would later go on to win another classical scholarship, this
time at King’s. Paul came to Cambridge in 1935, choosing to study English
as well as Classics for by this time he already envisioned his future work
being informed by both fields.The interest in the interconnections between
English literature and Classics would stay with Paul for the remainder of
his life.
In 1939 Paul left King’s with a First and spent the war working as an Assistant
Principal in the Ministry of Health and then as an Observer in the RNVR Air
Branch. Paul was grounded in 1941 for medical reasons and spent the rest of
the war in London, presumably to the relief of Alexandra, whom he had
married in 1940. In 1942 two daughters, Jacky and Sally, were born to the
couple. After the war Paul worked again at the Ministry of Health, taught at
Morley College, held temporary lectureships at Cambridge University and
King’s College London and taught Classics at London grammar schools. In
1955 he was finally appointed Lecturer in English at University College
London. Paul’s first major translation, of Longus’ Daphnis and Chloe, was
published the following year.
In the early 1960s Paul was inTurkey for two non-consecutive years, teaching
English at Ankara University. For both Paul and his Turkish students this was a
rewarding experience. Turkey would hold a special place in his heart and he
would keep in touch with many of his colleagues and students from this
period. A physical and intellectual home in Oxford would come to Paul in
1964. He was then appointed University Lecturer in English and Fellow of
Linacre College.
Paul retired officially in 1984, though he never stopped teaching. His work as
a part-timeTutor in Greek and Literature for the Oxford University Continuing
Education Department lasted from 1986 until just before his death. With