Sir Alan Patrick Herbert CH (A. P. Herbert, 24 September 1890 – 11 November 1971), was an English humorist, novelist, playwright, law reform activist and Independent Member of Parliament for Oxford University from 1935 until 1950. Born in Ashtead, Surrey, he attended Winchester College and New College, Oxford, receiving a starred first in Jurisprudence in 1914. He joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve as a seaman in World War I, later serving as an officer in the Royal Naval Division. He fought in Gallipoli and on the Western Front, becoming battalion adjutant in 1917, before injury excluded him from the front line. After the war he published The Secret Battle and joined the staff of Punch in 1924. As an MP Herbert campaigned for private member's rights, piloted the Matrimonial Causes A