Obituary: Other lives: Sir Nicholas Monck

Born in London, he won himself a privileged education - he was a scholar first at Eton and then at King's College, Cambridge - but he and Elizabeth, whom he married in 1960, sent their own sons to the local comprehensive school. It was probably [Nicholas Monck]'s support for the Labour par...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Guardian (London)
Main Author Frayn, Michael
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London (UK) Guardian News & Media Limited 13.09.2013
Subjects
Monck, Nicholas
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Born in London, he won himself a privileged education - he was a scholar first at Eton and then at King's College, Cambridge - but he and Elizabeth, whom he married in 1960, sent their own sons to the local comprehensive school. It was probably [Nicholas Monck]'s support for the Labour party, so some of his colleagues believed, that at the apogee of his career kept him out of the very highest office in the Treasury; Margaret Thatcher realised that he most definitely was not "one of us". Nicholas's style of dress was certainly a demonstration of the first part of the philosophy - more Worzel Gummidge than Sir Humphrey - with a particular leaning towards farm labourers' suits from the local gents' outfitters. There was also a lot of serious talk about politics and administration, a lot of reading and listening to music. Nicholas had studied classics at Cambridge, and he went on reading the great Greek and Latin texts for the rest of his life. He also had a rare knowledge and love of English poetry.
ISSN:0261-3077