Mary Tuck

Mary Tuck, CBE (née McDermott: 5 May 1928 – 20 October 1996) was a British criminologist, psychologist and civil servant. She was appointed a CBE in 1989.

Early life Mary McDermott was born on 5 May 1928 in St. Helens, Lancashire. Hers was a devout Roman Catholic family and she attended the Convent School of Notre Dame, where her aunt was the headmistress and her mother a maths teacher. Mary studied at the University of Liverpool for a year and through an open scholarship at St Anne's College, Oxford (1946–49). Here she received a Fulbright scholarship and went on to study at the University of Pittsburgh. Apart from her studies there, she also taught Freshman composition.

Career McDermott was first appointed to the Government Communications Headquarters but in 1952 she became an assistant editor of Vogue. Later, she worked as a copywriter and marketing consultant independently and for organisations, including J. Walter Thompson. She was critical of the Police and Magistrates' Courts Bill, 1994 and pointed out, in an article for The Guardian, that it reduced the control of local authorities and if it passed then "standards of policing in this country will suffer very badly".

Personal life Mary McDermott married Robin Tuck in 1955. Together they had two sons and two daughters.

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