Part III: Antarctica and Academe - Scott Polar Research Institute

members of the catholic heirarchy, the Archbishop, some bishops, including Alan
Clark, Bishop of East Anglia, the former Master and the present Dean. The problems
were strongly rooted in the past and at root was a schism between two kinds of
catholicism. There had been an orchestrated campaign against me which was very
anarchic and divisive, with personal attacks on my integrity; I did not descend to the
level. of the opposition.
Of course, with hindsight I have to acknowledge that I made some mistakes in
handling this very difficult situation. It ran unremittingly for two years and for some
seven months of that time I was unwell having had two major operations in the
summer and Autumn of l987. I may have misjudged the motives of some of my
critics, although I still do not think so. Strictly speaking, I may on occasion have
over-reacted, possibly even acted unconstitutionally on a strict interpretation ,
although I took legal advice on most actions, and the unconstitutional actions, if any,
were on minor issues, where some latitude might have been given. On the major
issues I am satisfied that I acted entirely correctly. And after all, my actions were
vindicated by the negative response of the Visitor to the 'vexatious' petition. But it is
not an experience I would wish upon anyone. I was buoyed up by the conviction
that I was right, my previous experiences in Africa and government service had
prepared me for the bitter struggle, and I enjoyed strong support from people in the
Fellowship and more widely in the University whose opinion I respected.
However, personal considerations aside, I certainly have no doubt that this 'catharsis'
was essential to the future destinies of the College.
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