In 1979 he moved to the Chair of German at Hull University which
Posted in General on 20. Jul, 2010
In 1979 he moved to the Chair of German at Hull University, which he filled with distinction until his death. The esteem and affection felt for him in that department is evident in the tribute which prefaces the Festschrift published last year on the occasion of his 60th birthday.In retrospect it can be seen that, with his early work on Hauptmann, McInnes set out the theme which was to provide an unusually strong unifying thread to his work in the subsequent years. This was a time of worsening East-West relations, resolved in a way (the Berlin Wall) which, by restricting access to libraries and archives, for many years inhibited scholarly activity in central areas of Edward McInnes’s work, which he none the less pursued with steady determination.He completed his MA in 1961, at a time when this was still a research degree, with a substantial thesis on “The Conception of Guilt in Hauptmann’s Tragic Drama”, and, at a very young age, he contributed alongside an array of the country’s leading Hauptmann scholars, Mainland, McFarlane, Garten and Gilbert, to the Hauptmann centenary lectures mounted by the Institute of Germanic Studies in 1962.After a short period as Assistant Lecturer at King’s he returned to Scotland to a lectureship in German at Edinburgh University, where he was promoted to Reader in 1973, where he met his wife, Jean, and where his four children were born. He spent a period in Vienna, laying the foundations for his subsequent work in Austrian literature, and a year as Lektor in English at the Free University of Berlin. He went to King’s College London to read German, graduating with First Class honours in 1958, and proceeded directly to research under the supervision of Mary Gilbert.
As a graduate student he established very firm and enduring contacts with the German-speaking world.
His early education took place at Renfrew High School and Greenock Academy, but as the son of a Baptist minister he spent his childhood in a number of different places in Scotland, Northern Ireland and England. As John Biffen once, in his typically quiet, and ironic, way, said to me: “Do you think that John will enjoy it in the Lords, without any power?”Patrick CosgraveJohn Granville Morrison, politician: born 16 December 1906; MP (Conservative) for Salisbury 1942-64; Chairman, 1922 Committee 1955-64; created 1964 Baron Margadale; Lord- Lieutenant of Wiltshire 1969-81; married 1928 The Hon Margaret Smith (died 1980; two sons, one daughter, and one son deceased); died 25 May 1996.. The special affection which the Germans display for Scotland has over the years been reciprocated in the major role played by many Scottish scholars in the study and teaching of German literature in Britain Edward McInnes occupied a pre-eminent position among them
He was born in 1935 in Maybole, Ayrshire. In the end, one has to say that John Margadale found himself enjoying his estates, at Fonthill, in Wiltshire, and on the island of Islay, in Scotland, more than he had enjoyed his days of power and influence, but that he nevertheless enjoyed the influence. He enjoyed political influence – and never sought political power, as a Minister of the Crown.The paradox about this extraordinary man is that he was at once bluff countryman, efficient farmer, and effective Chairman of the 1922 Committee. He made – in uniform – his maiden speech in the House of Commons, bewailing the conditions in which his troops lived. It was the only controversial speech of his political life, for it expressed a view of the conduct of the war which was antithetical to the views of the Government of the day.
It showed a simplicity, and honesty, about Morrison which was in his nature, but which he was never after to display.He did many things outside politics He was a great Master of Hounds. He – when he became interested – saw a beautiful horse and decided to breed horses; they won some difficult races, or fared well in them. He reorganised the Jockey Club, so that ordinary punters could have a decent say in how races were run. Morrison, who had gone to fight in North Africa with a horse and groom, found himself recalled, at the singular behest of Churchill, to be the Conservative candidate for Salisbury. Thence he went to Cambridge, where, in spite of every influence exerted by his family, he could not be helped to a degree.
He spent far too much time on sport, and far too much of his allowance on fox-hunting.Then came the Second World War. He was sent to Eton, where he proved to be less interested in academic matters than was thought appropriate by his teachers. The first was his immense personal wealth, accumulated over three generations. The second was his total lack of interest in ministerial office.