Neal Ascherson

Charles Neal Ascherson (born 5 October 1932) is a Scottish journalist and writer. In his youth he fought for the British in the Malayan Emergency. He has been described by Radio Prague as "one of Britain's leading experts on central and eastern Europe". the son of a naval officer of Jewish ancestry and a mother from a London family of Scottish descent; his elder half-sister (by his father's first marriage) was the artist Pamela Ascherson. His aunt was the actress Renée Asherson.

Neal was awarded a scholarship to Eton.

Military service Before going to university, Ascherson did his National Service as an officer in the Royal Marines, serving from July 1951 to September 1952. During this time, he fought in the Malayan Emergency against pro-independence and communist guerrillas belonging to the Malayan National Liberation Army. During the Malayan Emergency he witnessed the racial oppression of the native people at the hands of British forces, and once claimed to have seen a communist guerrilla shot dead while vainly attempting to save another wounded communist during a gunfight. These experiences later pushed him towards anti-imperialist politics.

University education Ascherson attended King's College, Cambridge, where he studied history. Twenty years later, in the first election for the Scottish Parliament, he stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate in the West Renfrewshire constituency but was not successful. Ascherson supported the "Yes" (pro-independence) campaign in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.

Ascherson has also lectured and written extensively about Polish and Eastern Europe affairs. he is a visiting professor at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London.

Awards and honours In 1991 Ascherson was awarded an honorary degree from the Open University as Doctor of the University. In 2011 he was elected Honorary Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

Personal life Neal Ascherson's first wife was journalist Corinna Adam; the couple first met at Cambridge University and married in 1958. They had two daughters together before separating in 1974. The couple divorced in 1982. Corinna Ascherson, also a journalist, died in March 2012.

In 1984, Ascherson married his second wife, journalist Isabel Hilton. The couple currently live in London and have two children.