Professor John Charmley RIP

Dear Colleagues,

It is with great sadness that I am writing to share the news of the recent death of Professor John Charmley, at his home in Norfolk.

Professor Charmley formally retired from the University in 2021, but he had remained very much connected with St Mary’s as Emeritus Professor and he supported the development of the St Mary’s University Press as the Chair of the Editorial Board. John joined St Mary’s University in 2016 from the University of East Anglia, where he had served in a number of senior academic roles, as our Pro-Vice Chancellor for Academic Strategy. He later became the University’s first Provost in 2020.

During his time at St Mary’s, John undertook invaluable initiatives to modernise the University. A key legacy of his work at St Mary’s was the development of the foundation year pathways, a part of his strong commitment to widening access to higher education. These courses have since seen hundreds of students progress to study full undergraduate degrees who previously would not have been able to.

Aside to his roles in university leadership, John was an esteemed historian, whose career in academia spanned over five decades. After completing his doctoral studies at Pembroke College, Oxford, his specialisms in Winston Churchill, Neville Chamberlain, and the Conservative Party saw him become a well-known figure as he authored several books, contributed frequently to public debate, and took an active role in the national conversation through the media.

A convert to Catholicism, John’s passionate commitment to his faith underpinned everything he did. John will be greatly missed by the St Mary’s community. We are grateful for his service to the University’s mission and the many contributions he made to campus life. Our prayers are with John and his family.

A Requiem Mass will be celebrated for John Charmley in the University Chapel and details will be announced as soon as they are available.

May he rest in peace.

Professor Anthony McClaran

Vice-Chancellor

Support

If you’ve been affected by this sad news, please remember you are not alone. There is support available to staff and students across the University, and I’d encourage you to reach out to them. you can access support through the following services:

Student support

• Student Services team: studentservices@stmarys.ac.ukTel: 020 8240 2359The Chaplaincy team: Chaplaincy@stmarys.ac.ukTel: 020 8240 4002
• Togetherall is available 24/7 to provide online support and counselling togetherall.com

Staff support

• Our Employee Assistance Programme - Health Hero (https://www.stmarys.ac.uk/hr/hr-operations/rewards-and-benefits/health-and-wellbeing/employee-assistance-programme.aspx)
• Wellbeing support is available to all staff via the HR webpage (https://www.stmarys.ac.uk/hr/hr-operations/rewards-and-benefits/health-and-wellbeing/overview.aspx)