Sir Ewan Harper CBE, 1939-2026

Sir Ewan was appointed CBE in 1997 and was knighted in 2003 for services to the Church of England. A founding Trustee of the Lambeth Trust, established in 1983 to support the work and mission of present and former Archbishops of Canterbury, he also served as its Secretary and later Chairman. Through this work, he became a trusted adviser and valued supporter to several Archbishops. After 31 years of service, he retired from the Trust in 2014. Sir Ewan also oversaw the restoration of the historic Chapel at Lambeth Palace, which had never fully recovered from the bomb damage it sustained during the Second World War.

Sir Ewan had a passionate interest in the provision of educational opportunity, and made extensive contributions to UK secondary education across his career. He held a number of school governorships and served as CEO of the United Church Schools Trust for over 10 years. Building on this role, Sir Ewan became the CEO and Founding Director of the United Learning Trust, which sponsored 21 City Academies, many of them sited in areas of the UK where progression to Higher Education sat below the national average. This placed Sir Ewan at the vanguard of the academy movement in the early 2000s, working with Labour and coalition Governments to develop UK secondary education policy.

Master of Trinity Hall, Mary Hockaday, said “Ewan was a wonderful member of the Trinity Hall community, from his time as an undergraduate right through to recent months when he continued to support the College’s education and widening participation activities. He was a regular at College events, interested in everyone, posing astute questions and always keen to see Trinity Hall flourish. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.”