Bernard "Bunny" Mellor (8 November 1917 – 28 January 1998) was a British academic active in Hong Kong and Macau. Born in Blackpool, he studied literature at Merton College at the University of Oxford, where he was mentored by Edmund Blunden. He served variously in the Royal Artillery, British Indian Army, and MI6 during World War II. In 1944, he was stationed as an intelligence agent in Kunming, China, where he worked in deception campaigns alongside Peter Fleming. He served in multiple education roles in Hong Kong following its liberation, and was appointed as Registrar of the University of Hong Kong in January 1948. He served until 1974, when he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the university. He was a founding member of the University of Macau, serving as a planning director from 1979 to 1988. He died in Oxford in 1998.

Early life

Bernard Mellor was born on 8 November 1917 in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, the son of a local brewer.^[1][2] Initially seeking to become a concert pianist as a youth, he was persuaded by his father to instead pursue academia. He attended Merton College at the University of Oxford from 1936 to 1940, where he studied literature. During his time at Oxford, he served as editor of the Cherwell student newspaper, alongside his political correspondent Edward Heath. He was mentored by Edmund Blunden, who would serve as a significant influence on his work. Additionally, he became friends with fellow student Yang Xianyi, by whom he was introduced to Chinese studies.^[1][3]

Military service

In 1940, during World War II, he enlisted in the Royal Artillery. He worked as a cook, and shortly thereafter wrote his first publication, Ration Cooking for Small Detachments, while serving in an anti-aircraft unit during the Blitz. He was commissioned as an intelligence agent in the 3rd Madras Regiment of the British Indian Army from 1942 to 1944, and designed an official uniform for the unit.^[1][3] He obtained his Master of Arts degree in 1943, during his service in the regiment.^[4]

In 1944, he was sent to Kunming, China, where he served in MI6 (there known as the "Inter-Services Liaison Department"). For a period he worked under a deception unit headed by Peter Fleming, the elder brother of Ian Fleming.^[1] In this role, he published a falsified version of the Illustrated London News for distribution in Burma.^[1] Following the end of the war, he was promoted to Major.^[4]

University of Hong Kong

He traveled to Hong Kong shortly after its liberation, where he served as the assistant director of Education for the Civil Affairs Administration for a portion of 1945 to 1946. He was briefly appointed as a lecturer of English and the Acting Registrar of the University of Hong Kong in 1946. After this, he returned to Oxford. While visiting Switzerland, he met Mauricette Jeanneret-Grosjean; the two married in Bern in September 1946, and would go on to have five sons.^[1][3][4]

In January 1948, he returned to Hong Kong to serve officially in the position of Registrar. He ultimately served in this role until 1974, by which point he had served longer than any other registrar in the Commonwealth. He was referred to as Bunny Mellor among his colleagues at the university. He contributed to historical coverage of the institution, including a 1962 history of the university entitled The First Fifty Years, 1911-1961.^[3][5] In 1982, he published The University of Hong Kong: An Informal History, featuring a history of the university alongside a second volume consisting of various historical photos of the campus over time.^[6] Ten years later, he published Lugard in Hong Kong, extensively detailing Sir Frederick Lugard's term as Governor of Hong Kong and his foundation of the university.^[7] Additionally, Mellor continued to publish works related to English poetry and literature, including a 1963 compilation of the two surviving works of 17th century poet Francis Hubert.^[8]

From 1957 to 1958, he worked as an academic consultant (Adviser for Colonial Scholars in North America), attached to the Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington, D.C., at times working to advise scholars in Ottawa. During the early 1960s, he served on the board of New Asia College and Chung Chi College.^[3][4]

After leaving the university, he helped to found the University of East Asia (now the University of Macau), serving as its planning director and advisor from 1979 to 1988.^[1] He was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1966. In 1974, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of Hong Kong.^[3] He died in Oxford on 28 January 1998.^[1][5]

Published works

As author

• Mellor, Bernard (1960). The American Degree: A Comparative Study for British Students. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 9780598163127.
• Mellor, Bernard (1962). "The American Foundations". In Harrison, Brian (ed.). University of Hong Kong: The First 50 Years, 1911-1961. University of Hong Kong Press.
• Edmund, Blunden; Mellor, Bernard (1963). Wayside Poems of the Seventeenth Century. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 9780856560484.
• Edmund, Blunden; Mellor, Bernard (1964). Wayside Poems of the Early Eighteenth Century. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 9780608137919.
• Edmund, Blunden; Mellor, Bernard (1971). Wayside Sonnets, 1750-1850. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 9780196431239.
• Mellor, Bernard (March 1977). "Extraordinary Congregations: Notes for an Epic". Interflow. 8.
• Mellor, Bernard (1982). The University of Hong Kong: An Informal History. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 9789882203013.
• Mellor, Bernard (1988). The University of East Asia: Origin and Outlook. Macau: University of East Asia Press. ISBN 9789623080057.
• Mellor, Bernard (1992). Lugard in Hong Kong: Empires, Education and a Governor at Work 1907–1912. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 9789622093164.
• Mellor, Bernard (1998). "In India, in China, and Twice in Hong Kong". In Matthews, Clifford; Oswald, Cheung (eds.). Dispersal and Renewal: Hong Kong University During the War Years. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 9789882201026.

As editor

• Hubert, Francis (1961). Mellor, Bernard (ed.). The Poems of Sir Francis Hubert. University of Hong Kong Press. ISBN 9780856560552.
• Lindsay, Ride; May, Ride (1995). Mellor, Bernard (ed.). An East India Company Cemetery: Protestant Burials in Macao. University of Hong Kong Press. ISBN 9789622093843.