J. P. Carswell

John Patrick Carswell CB FRSL (30 May 1918 – 12 November 1997) was an English civil servant and author who served as Secretary of the British Academy from 1978 to 1983. Professionally and as an author, he was known as J. P. Carswell, although he published some of his books under the name John Carswell.

Early life The son of Donald Carswell, a barrister and author, and of Catherine Carswell, also an author, he was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, and St John's College, Oxford.

Career Carswell completed his degree course at Oxford in 1940, during the Second World War, and then joined the British Army. In 1964, he became Under-secretary in the Office of the Lord President of the Council and Minister for Science. Ianthe Carswell died in 2001. In 1957, with Sheila Jones, she had formed the National Committee for the Abolition of Nuclear Tests, which evolved into the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.