John Trevelyan

Who was John Trevelyan?

John Trevelyan was Secretary of the Board of the British Board of Film Censors from 1958 to 1971.

Trevelyan was born in Beckenham, Kent, England, the son of a parson., and had been involved in educational administration. In 1951 he joined the British Board of Film Censors as an examiner, and in 1958 became Secretary.

He brought a more liberal approach to the role of Chief Censor than his predecessors claiming: "We are paid to have dirty minds". His Times obituary said that he "never shrank from using his scissors, especially when it came to protecting the young." He passed the 1969 Ken Russell film Women in Love of the D. H. Lawrence novel, and received a complaint about the nude wrestling scene between the two male stars that the actors were "displaying their genials".

However his approach was harshly criticised by some. According to film director Roy Ward Baker:

Trevelyan wrote a book on his experiences entitled What the Censor Saw.

Trevelyan was a critic of the early Bond films; when GoldenEye was released in 1995, the villain of the film was named Alec Trevelyan.

He was married four times. He was awarded the CBE in 1971.

Trevelyan died in Croydon, Greater London, aged 83.