Martial Rose

He died after a short illness on 31 January 2021 at home in Norfolk.

In 2003 he produced a biography of the actress Dame Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, contemporary of John Gielgud, Edith Evans, and Laurence Olivier.

After his retirement in 1984, Rose remained in close contact with many former students and colleagues. In addition to his numerous writing projects, he was involved in a research project of alumni of the University of Winchester aimed at assembling a collective portrait of the students of Winchester Training College (the former name of King Alfred's College) who served in the World War I.

In 1981 he authored A History of King Alfred's College, Winchester 1840-1980. Arguably the pivotal figure himself in the making of what would become the University of Winchester, he was also concerned to set the record straight about its past and the different stages in the College’s development.

In 1965, Rose took a post at King Alfred's College, Winchester. Although he was initially appointed Vice Principal, he took over as college head following the death of Principal John Stripe in 1967.

In 1961, Martial Rose became Head of Education at Bretton Hall, as a Senior Tutor.

A specialist in English Literature and Drama, in 1961 Rose published the standard edition of the medieval cycle of the Wakefield Mystery Plays.

Martial Rose married Heather Millar in the summer of 1953, shortly after joining Bretton Hall College. They had two children.

From 1952 to 1965, Martial Rose was a lecturer at Bretton Hall College of Education in Yorkshire. Initially appointed Head of English and Drama, he produced student and staff plays, operas and, in 1958, his own acting version of the Wakefield Mystery Plays. The production of the plays was considered by Rose, as well as other members of the college community, an enterprise that "was to unite the College in one massive undertaking." A later principal of Bretton Hall, Alyn Davies said of Rose's achievements: "This must be the single most significant act of scholarship at Bretton." After reading a review of his production in the Manchester Guardian, Bernard Miles wrote to Rose with the idea of opening his Mermaid Theatre with this version of the plays. Although, due to initial censorship by the Lord Chamberlain, Miles chose to open the theater with a production of Lock Up Your Daughters, he was able to mount productions of the Wakefield Mystery Plays in 1961 and 1963. In addition to providing the text of the plays, Rose served as a consultant for these productions.

Martial Rose (9 August 1922 – 31 January 2021) was an English educator and historian.

Rose was born in 1922. Raised in London, he attended elementary school in Camberwell, then gained a scholarship to attend Christ's Hospital, Horsham. After wartime service in London and in Swansea, he attended King’s College, Cambridge from 1946 to 1950 where he received an MA.