We were saddened to hear of the recent passing of Professor David Marquand (OE1945-52), a highly distinguished academic, centre-left politician and MP. The Marquand Room of the school library, which is jointly named after David and his brother, Richard, features a portrait of David and is a popular location for private pupil study. David appreciated this gesture greatly as he was a library prefect in his school days. He was delighted to be a guest of honour when the library relocated and expanded in 2007.
As a member of Howe House and later a prefect, David had an outstanding school career and was awarded academic prizes for almost every school year. As a youngster he gained proficiency prizes and, as he matured, David specialised in English and History. He won prizes in both subjects an unprecedented three years in a row. It came as no surprise when he won a Demyship to Magdalen College, Oxford, as well as a State Scholarship to read History. On another memorable occasion, he triumphed in a national essay writing competition with a remarkable prize; two weeks’ holiday in Denmark.
David threw himself into every aspect of school life; he was a competitive swimmer and rowed for the Second VIII. However, there were many early signs he was destined to follow in his distinguished father’s footsteps, Hilary Marquand, who was a member of the Attlee government. In some amusing vintage correspondence, a contemporary recalled a chauffeur driven car whizzing down the drive to collect David or his brother Richard!
In David’s time, societies such as the Dacre Club ran mock elections. On three occasions, the keen budding politician played a prominent role, always as a Labour or Socialist candidate. There were numerous references in Portcullis magazines from David’s era which made it clear his politics were left wing, and he was not afraid to voice them publicly. This became a trademark of his adult political career, where he was not afraid to rebel against the party line. On one famous occasion in 1971, he was sacked from Labour’s opposition front bench for defying the party whip.
On one of the school occasions his marginal Socialist candidate ran the Conservative favourite a close second; The Portcullis magazine notes “hearing Mr. Marquand’s somewhat radical opinions”. If one reads between the lines, it is clear David’s contemporaries were fully aware of his political convictions. He was also a member of the Emanuel Combined Cadet Force (CCF) which undoubtedly influenced him to do his military service in the RAF. This also involved intensive Russian courses, in an era where the secret service was a potential career path.
It should be no surprise that David was destined for a successful career in politics. During his time at Emanuel, he sat on many committees, including the Sackville Club, the Council for Education in World Citizenship, the Historical Society, the Dacre Club, and the Dramatic Society Committee. He enjoyed the stage and had a few support roles, including playing God in one production! However, it was David’s younger brother who was to become a true dramatic star, later directing a host of top films, including the international blockbuster Star Wars: the Return of the Jedi (1983). Richard passed away at the tragically young age of 49 in 1987.
On leaving Emanuel, David was awarded a first in Modern History at Magdalen College, Oxford. After some years as a journalist, in 1964 he unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary seat for Barry but was later elected Labour MP for Ashfield in 1966, holding the seat until 1977. David then followed Roy Jenkins to Europe to work for the European Commission as a political adviser. After a couple of years, he returned to academic life in this country after unsuccessfully contesting the High Peak parliamentary seat for the Social Democratic Party in 1983. In many of the following years, he was involved in political think tanks and policy groups after returning to academia as Professor of Politics at the University of Salford and the University of Sheffield.
From the seventies until well past retirement age, he authored many notable history and politics books. His biography on Ramsey MacDonald remains the definitive work on that prime minister, and his Britain Since 1918: the Strange Case of British Democracy is also highly regarded, being widely used in modern history courses. He remained active as a political commentator and regularly wrote for newspapers such as The Guardian and weekly politics magazines. David always maintained close ties with The Guardian, a newspaper for which he first wrote in the late fifties. In his final major academic post, between 1996 and 2002, David was Principal of Mansfield College, Oxford.
David returned to Emanuel on more than one occasion. In 2009 he addressed a packed house, including members of the History Society, Senior Scholars, the Headmaster, Governors, and staff. He gave a fascinating talk entitled The rise, fall and rise of Blatcherism in which he discussed the contrasting leadership styles of Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. We were all held captive by the stories and theories from the corridors of power and the differences in leadership styles between Thatcher, Blair and Brown. In later years he was awarded many Honorary Fellowships, including Cardiff University, the British Academy, the Royal Historical Society, the Royal Society of Arts, the Learned Society of Wales and St. Antony’s College, Oxford. David left and re-joined the Labour Party on several occasions. After Brexit, he eventually joined Plaid Cymru, after a brief flirtation with the Green Party, and said jokingly he had been “in more parties than the Prince of Wales”.
Not long after the new library opened in 2007, the Marquand Prize was awarded annually to a top History or Politics A level pupil and has been awarded most years since 2008.
David’s passing is a great loss to the wider school community, but his incredible career is an inspiration to us all.
Tony Jones, Emanuel School archivist