John Padel

Who was John Padel?

John Hunter Padel was a British psychoanalyst and classicist.

He was born in Carlisle, where his father Charles Padel was headmaster of Carlisle Grammar School. His mother was Mòrag, 3rd daughter of William Hunter, MD. He was named after his ancestor, the surgeon John Hunter. He gained a scholarship to Queen's College, Oxford.

He married Hilda Horatio Barlow, daughter of Sir Alan Barlow and Nora Darwin, in 1944. She was a great-granddaughter of Charles Darwin. They had five children:

Ruth Padel, the poet

Oliver James Padel, mediaeval Cornish and Welsh historian

Nicola Mary Padel, psychiatrist and psychoanalytic psychotherapist

Felix John Padel, anthropologist

Adam Frederick Padel, histopathologist