Item 51 - ALS to his parents

Crook was born in Balham, London in 1921. His father was Herbert Crook, a professional orchestral musician who served in the Grenadier Guards, and his mother was Hilda née Flower. Following schooling at St Mary's, Balham and Dulwich College, where he developed his linguistic and musical gifts, Crook came to St John's in 1939 to study Classics. A First in Part I was followed by war service in the Middle East, North Africa and Italy, including sixteen months as a POW in Silesia. Following graduation in 1947, Crook spent time as a research student at Oxford and then as a lecturer at Reading. In 1951 he returned to St John's as a Fellow and thereafter devoted himself to scholarship and to his beloved College. He served as a teaching Fellow for over thirty years, and, in addition, held the offices of Tutor, Praelector, and President (1971-75). Crook served the University as Lecturer, Reader, and eventually Professor of Ancient History (1979-84). A superb performer in the lecture theatre, he was a most hospitable and generous host to visitors to his College rooms. In the wider world, Crook acquired an international reputation as an expert on Roman law and legal practice through masterful works such as 'Consilium Principis' (1955), 'Law and Life of Rome' (1967), and 'Legal Advocacy in the Roman World' (1995).