ABSTRACT
Having taken a double first in Greats from Merton College, Oxford, Trend took the civil service exam in 1936. He was assigned to the Ministry of Education (his first choice of departments on the civil service application forms). One of his referees, the philosopher Geoffrey Mure of Merton, wrote:
‘Mr Trend is the best pupil I have ever had . . . I have little doubt of Mr Trend’s cutting to the top in any career which he adopts . . . He has a force of character and intellect combined which will soon make him a “leader” in practical life . . .’2
