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{{short description|Last British civil servant in India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{infobox person
|name = J. P. L. Gwynn
|image = JPLGwynn.jpg
|image_size =
|caption =
|birth_name = John Peter Lucius Gwyn
|birth_date = 22 June 1916
|birth_place = London, England
|death_date = {{death date and age|1999|9|14|1916|6|22|df=y}}
|death_place = Bromley, England
|occupation = Civil servant
|}}

'''John Peter Lucius Gwynn''' (22 June 1916 – 14 September 1999) was a British civil servant, whose career spanned the colonial [[Indian Civil Service]], the independent [[Civil Services of India]], and the [[British Civil Service]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-j-p-l-gwynn-1126615.html|title=Obituary: J. P. L. Gwynn|date=17 November 1999|website=The Independent}}</ref>

==Early life==
His father was [[John Tudor Gwynn]], at that time a serving member of the [[Indian Civil Service]] (ICS), later to become a ''[[Manchester Guardian]]'' correspondent and writer on Indian affairs. His mother was Joan Elton Sedding, daughter of the architect [[John Dando Sedding]].<ref name="Times">''[https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/j-p-l-gwynn-1.255834 Irish Times]'', Dublin, 30 November 1999</ref>

Gwynn's first five years were spent in [[Madras State]] in India. In 1921 his father retired from the ICS on account of increasing deafness<ref>''Burke’s Irish Family Records'', London, 1976</ref> and the family returned to Britain. Peter attended the [[Dragon School]] in Oxford until his father took over Baymount Preparatory School in [[Dublin]] as proprietor/headmaster and the family settled in Ireland. Peter then attended [[St Columba's College, Dublin]] and went on to study [[Classics]] at [[Trinity College Dublin]], where he took his BA Honours (first class, with gold medal) in 1938.<ref name="Times" />

==Indian Civil Service career==
Gwynn spent a year training for the [[Indian Civil Service]] and studying [[Sanskrit]] at [[University College London]] before entering the service in November 1939.<ref name="Times" /> He was posted in [[Madras Presidency]] and worked in the [[Telugu language|Telugu]]-speaking part of that province which later became [[Andhra State]] and then part of [[Andhra Pradesh]].<ref name="Hindu">''The Hindu'', Chennai, 16 June 2016</ref>

After [[Indian Independence Act 1947]] in 1947 Peter Gwynn opted to stay on in the civil service under the new [[Government of India]].<ref name="Times" />

In 1959 Peter Gwynn married Patricia Margaret “Peggy” Satur, daughter of Andrew Satur, a businessman of [[Chennai|Madras]]. The couple had two sons, John Jude Lucius Gwynn (born 1960) and Robert Charles Patrick Gwynn (born 1963).<ref name="Hindu"/>

Peter Gwynn became Secretary in the Education Ministry of Andhra Pradesh and was instrumental in the introduction of compulsory primary education in that state.<ref name="Times" /> After that he served as Second Secretary in the Board of Revenue until his retirement from the ICS. When he retired in 1968 he was apparently the last remaining British member of the service.<ref>Diary in ''The Times'', London, autumn 1968</ref><ref name="Times" />

In addition to his official duties Peter Gwynn contributed in his spare time to the cultural life of Andhra Pradesh, helping to found the [[Telugu Academy]] in [[Hyderabad]] and serving as a member of the governing body of the [[Salar Jung Museum]].<ref name="Hindu"/>

==Later life==
In 1968 the family moved to England where Peter Gwynn entered the UK civil service as a [[Treasury]] under secretary, remaining in post until his final retirement in 1976. During his retirement he worked on his linguistic projects, compiling a Telugu grammar book in conjunction with Professor [[Bhadriraju Krishnamurti]] (''A Grammar of Modern Telugu'', Oxford University Press, 1985) and completing a dictionary of the Telugu language (''A Telugu-English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, 1991).<ref name="Times" /><ref name="Hindu"/>

Peter Gwynn died in [[Bromley]], Kent on 14 September 1999.

==Works==
* ''A Grammar of Modern Telugu'' (1985) (with Prof. [[Bhadriraju Krishnamurti]])
* ''A Telugu-English Dictionary'' (1991)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwynn, J P L}}
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:1999 deaths]]
[[Category:Dravidologists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian linguists]]
[[Category:Indian Civil Service (British India) officers]]
[[Category:British lexicographers]]
[[Category:Linguists from the United Kingdom]]

Peter Gwynn - Revision history

Peter05220035516: Put Up The Data More To Come!