G. W. S. Barrow

Geoffrey Wallis Steuart Barrow (28 November 1924 – 14 December 2013) was a Scottish historian and academic.

The son of Charles Embleton Barrow and Marjorie née Stuart, Geoffrey Barrow was born on 28 November 1924, at Headingley near Leeds. He attended St Edward's School, Oxford, and Inverness Royal Academy, moving on to the University of St Andrews and Pembroke College, Oxford.

While still a student at the University of St Andrews, Barrow joined the Royal Navy. After basic training he was sent to the Royal Navy Signals School near Petersfield in Hampshire, but he was then offered the chance to go on a Japanese course. He passed an interview in the Admiralty and, as a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, joined the seventh course at the secret Bedford Japanese School run by Captain Oswald Tuck in March 1944 for a six-month course. After completing the course he was sent to the Naval Section at the Government Code and Cypher School, Bletchley Park. He was later sent to H.M.S. Anderson, a naval listening and decoding centre in Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

Barrow became lecturer in history at University College London in 1950, remaining there until 1961 when he became professor of medieval history at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and then in 1974, professor of Scottish history at the University of St Andrews. He was Sir William Fraser Professor of Scottish History and Palaeography at the University of Edinburgh from 1979 to 1992.

Barrow began his work by studying the nature of feudalism in Anglo-Norman Britain, but moved on to specialize more thoroughly on Scottish feudalism. His work tended to focus on Normanisation in High Medieval Scotland, especially in reference to governmental institutions.

Personal life Barrow married Heather Elizabeth Lownie in 1951. They had one son and one daughter; his daughter, Julia Barrow, also became an historian and academic.

Notable publications Books

Works as editor Acts of Malcolm IV, 1153–1165 (Edinburgh, 1960) – Regesta Regum Scottorum, vol. i. Acts of William I, 1165–1214 (with W. W. Scott; Edinburgh, 1971) – Regesta Regum Scottorum, vol. ii. The Scottish Tradition (Edinburgh, 1974) The Charters of King David I (Woodbridge, 1999)

Papers