A. P. Herbert

Sir Alan Patrick Herbert (usually as A. P. Herbert or A.P.H.) (September 24, 1890 - November 11, 1971) was a British humorist, Member of Parliament, barrister, novelist and Law reform activist.

Education & Public Career

He studied at New College, Oxford, without taking a degree; and was admitted to the bar in 1918, but never practiced.

In 1935, with the aid of Frank Pakenham, he became a Member of Parliament for Oxford University, from where he was returned until the University seats were abolished in 1950.

He was sent to Newfoundland and Labrador in 1943 with Derrick Gunston and Charles Ammon as part of a Parliamentary commission to investigate the future of the dominion, and supported the cause of independence over Confederation as a result. He was knighted in 1945.

He served in the Royal Naval Division during the First World War; and during the Second World War in the Royal Navy, on patrol-boats in the Thames.

Reforming the Laws

Throughout his career he lobbied for reform of several laws which he felt to be outdated, among these the legislation on divorce and obscenity.

A popular topic of his was the remarkably complex British licensing laws of the time, and in 1935 - as a protest - he became the first person to lay a criminal information against the House of Commons, for selling alcohol without a license. (The High Court ruled that it was exempt through Parliamentary privilege)

Giving his maiden speech on his second day in the House, he declared rashly that he planned to introduce the Matrimonial Causes Bill, to reform divorce, and that he would have it passed before that Parliament was over. In the event, it was passed - somewhat strengthed by the House of Lords - in 1938 as the Matrimonial Causes Act 1937. This, for the first time, allowed divorce without requiring proof of adultery. He also advocated reform of the gambling laws and the repeal of the entertainments tax, among other causes.

"Misleading Cases"

His work appeared often in Punch magazine, where the work for which he is best remembered; his series of Misleading Cases in the Common Law; was first published. These were satirical pieces; in the form of "law reports" or "judgements"; on various aspects of the British legal and judicial system. They often had a sharp political point beneath their satire, and tied into his personal crusades against obsolescent legislation. Many of them featured the exploits of Albert Haddock, a tireless and veteran litigant.

Although entirely fictional, they are often quoted admiringly and with full knowledge in actual judicial decisions; and are also the subject of academic research.

Due to their realism they were on several occasions mistakenly reported by newspapers both in Britain and elsewhere as factual. One of the "cases", supposedly establishing a novel crime of "doing what you like", was sharply criticized by an American law review article, whose author failed to note its entire absurdity.

Over his lifetime he published sixteen collections of the Misleading Cases. Some of these were collected into two volumes, Uncommon Law and More Uncommon Law, in 1982. The BBC successfully adapted them for television; with Roy Dotrice as Haddock, and Alastair Sim as the judge; as A P Herbert's Misleading Cases.

Novels & other writings

He wrote eight novels, including The Water Gypsies, The Secret Battle, and Holy Deadlock; and fifteen plays.

In addition to his fiction, Herbert wrote What a Word! in 1935, continuing his campaign in Punch for better use of English, including a section on 'Plain English' more than a decade ahead of Sir Ernest Gowers' more celebrated work. Characteristically Herbert uses humour to make his serious points about good writing.