Officers & Trustees

John Powell is the younger son of Anthony and Lady Violet Powell. He has taken a keen interest in the Society since its inception and provided valuable assistance in the early days of the Society, especially with the planning of the 2001 conference. Both John and, until his death, elder brother Tristram have been keen to ensure that the memory and work of both their parents lives on.

Ferdy has had a distinguished literary career as an author and journalist including being editor of the Times Literary Supplement. His work spans novels, memoirs, colonial history and political analysis. Ferdy was also Head of the Downing Street Policy Unit during part of Margaret Thatcher’s period as Prime Minister.
Ferdy is related to the Powell family through his mother, Lady Julia Pakenham, who was Lady Violet’s sister. Ferdy therefore brings to the Society first hand knowledge of AP as did Grey Gowrie during his time as President.

Patric Dickinson read history at Oxford, where he was President of the Union and wrote for Isis and Cherwell. Actively interested in genealogy since boyhood, he worked at the College of Arms from 1968 to 2021; finally as Clarenceux King of Arms. He has also been Treasurer of the College of Arms, Secretary of the Order of the Garter, and Earl Marshal's Secretary. In 2005 he was elected President of the Society of Genealogists. His occasional writings include obituaries for The Independent and contributions to the New Dictionary of National Biography. Patric was Society Chairman for four years, including Powell's centenary year, prior to his election as a Vice-President.

Michael Meredith has been associated with Powell's alma mater, Eton College, for many years serving as an English Master, a House Master, School Librarian and College Librarian. Although now retired Michael is still involved in curating Eton College Library's 19th and 20th century collections, which he largely instigated. It was through though his good offices as Eton College Librarian that the Society were able to hold the first Anthony Powell Conference at Eton in 2001 as a result of which the Powell family deposited a significant tranche of AP's papers with the College Library. Michael has great experience of the literary world, literary societies and is an internationally respected Robert Browning scholar.

Jeremy Warren is a sculpture and works of art specialist. As the former Deputy Director of The Wallace Collection, it was he who conceived and curated The Wallace Collection's 2005 Powell centenary exhibition Dancing to the Music of Time and invited the Society to hold the Centenary Conference at the Wallace. Jeremy is very highly respected within the museum profession and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

John Blaxter is a retired teacher living in Bedfordshire. He has been responsible for organising the Society’s weekend excursions, which happily combine some of his particular interests: Welsh landscape, ancient buildings and historical sites, wining and dining and Anthony Powell chat. He boasts no formal qualification entitling him to undertake scholarly analysis of works of literature, however having taught art and design in secondary schools for many years, and also acted as an examiner for much of that time, he has seen a lot of art.

Robin Bynoe is a solicitor living in London and France. He formerly ran the intellectual property departments of a couple of City law firms and is now a consultant with a small niche firm. He has been a Powell fan since 1966. Robin has published several legal books, a novel and short stories. He is editing the Society's publication of Powell's selected journalism.

Colin Donald is an editor for Baillie Gifford & Co., an Edinburgh-based investment company. He was formerly Business Editor of the Sunday Herald, and before that taught international relations in Japan.
A fan of Dance for over 40 years he interviewed Powell twice at The Chantry; the first meeting is recorded in the third volume of the Powell's Journals. He has spoken previously on AP and Shakespeare, AP and Dickens, comic register in Dance and an exploration of Mona "A Portrait in Miniature".

Jeff Manley is a lawyer living in Austin, Texas. He retired as a partner from the firm of WilmerHale LLP, and later as senior advisor to United Airlines. He received his AB in 1963 and AM and LLB degrees in 1968, all from Harvard University. He began reading Powell's works in 1976. In addition to articles in the AP Society Newsletter and journal, Secret Harmonies, he has also published in the Evelyn Waugh Newsletter and the Newsletter of the Henry Williamson Society as well as legal journals. He has been an active participant in the Society's email discussion lists since January 2000 and joined the AP Society when it was formed later that same year. He is the editor of a Dance Music: A Guide to Musical References in 'A Dance to the Music of Time' which was published by the Anthony Powell Society in 2010.

John is a retired solicitor living in Sussex and attended Balliol College Oxford, Anthony Powell's old college. John discovered Anthony Powell's work many years ago and also much enjoys the Audible recording of Dance. John has previous Trustee experience and is looking forward to contributing to the Society both as a Trustee and as its Secretary.

Email: secretary@anthonypowell.org

Educated at Westminster School and Magdalen College, Oxford, Harry qualified as a barrister before becoming a writer and journalist. Harry has a number of books to his name, including Amo, Amas, Amat ... and All That a popular reference to Latin. The son of Ferdinand Mount, Harry is a great-nephew of Anthony Powell and has been a member of the Society for many years. He is currently Editor of The Oldie.

John Roe is Professor Emeritus of English Literature at the University of York. He took his BA at Cambridge and his PhD (in Comparative Literature) at Harvard. His research interests include English and Italian Renaissance Literature and Shakespeare's poetry and drama. He also has a keen interest in the literature of the modern age and has written on the American poet John Berryman as a 'Great Shakespearean' for the series published by Continuum. He has been reading and re-reading Powell ever since he was introduced to Dance by his Latin master at school.

Bernard is a Consultant Gastroenterologist at University Hospital Southampton, having previously served in the RAMC. As well as being a Powell enthusiast he writes novels and short stories.  His writings include the Society's publications Poetic Dance and War Dance plus recreations of several of the lost works mentioned in Dance, most notably X Trapnel's Profiles in String (all of which are available from the online shop).

Email: chairman@anthonypowell.org

Mary-Louise is a Chartered Accountant retired from public practice but still serving as trustee/treasurer for the Society and another small charity. She was introduced to Dance in 1975, and has been a member of the Society since 2009.

Email: treasurer@anthonypowell.org

Originally a research chemist, Keith spent his working life in IT. He was one of the founders of the Society in June 2000, and served as Secretary and a Trustee until October 2018. He is now Secretary Emeritus.

Email: membership@anthonypowell.org or webmaster@anthonypowell.org.

Details as above.

Email: merchandise@anthonypowell.org

Elwin Taylor read history at King's College, London and has been a shipbroker and commodity trader. He joined the Anthony Powell Society in 2002 and served as a trustee between 2006 and 2016. Together with his wife Susan he organised the Society's 2014 Venice conference. He was appointed editor and publisher of the Newsletter and Secret Harmonies journal in 2025.

Email: editor@anthonypowell.org

Noreen Marshall was born in Suffolk in 1951, and educated at the University of East Anglia. She joined the curatorial staff of the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1974, and retired in 2011 as Senior Curator of the V&A Museum of Childhood at Bethnal Green, London. Her interests include genealogy, early music, the Internet and collecting children's books.

Email: archivist@anthonypowell.org