William Deakin, 91; Historian, Founder of College at Oxford
LA Times
Sir William Deakin, 91, a historian who founded St. Antony’s College at Oxford University, died Saturday in Var, France, British newspapers reported. No cause of death was given.
During World War II, Deakin served in Britain’s Special Operations Executive behind enemy lines, and led the first British mission to Marshal Josip Broz Tito’s partisans in Yugoslavia. Deakin’s report on Tito’s group persuaded the British government to withdraw support from one group of partisans, the Chetniks, and back Tito instead.
Born in London, Deakin was educated at Christ Church, Oxford. Before World War II, he taught history and worked as a research assistant to Winston Churchill.
After the war, he spent four years helping Churchill write his account of the conflict.
The brutal friendship: Mussolini, Hitler, and the fall of Italian fascism
British Political and Military Strategy in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe in 1944
The six hundred days of Mussolini
Imperial Germany and the “Holy War” in Africa, 1914-1918 (Montague Burton lecture on international relations)
The Embattled Mountain
