Jack Reacher author Lee Child to be honoured by Coventry University

He shot to fame as the author behind films starring Tom Cruise and now Lee Child is set to be honoured by his birth city. Since his humble beginnings from the Styvechale area of Coventry, Lee, whose real name is James Dover Grant, has enjoyed worldwide success as the writer of the Jack Reacher novels.

Lee will be in Coventry this week to receive an Honorary Doctorate from Coventry University. He was born and raised in Styvechale.

He later moved with his family to Birmingham. His career has since taken him to New York, where he now lives.

Lee is one of a number of people to be granted Honorary Doctorates, joining musician Anna Meredith, diversity champion and senior coroner Sean McGovern, activist Maxie Hayles and Dr Charles Ashton, the Medical Director of the South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust.

Lee, 68, said he’s always had fond memories of Coventry. He was scheduled to support City of Culture events before the coronavirus pandemic changed things.

He said: “As I got older I was still always aware of Coventry being there and had fond memories. I was supporting City of Culture and was scheduled to show up but the pandemic laid waste to that.

“From my point of view, it’s lovely that someone has read my books and thinks I’m worthy of being given something like this. Coventry University didn’t exist by that name when I was here and I’m happy it’s doing so well.”

Early in his career, Lee joined Granada Television in Manchester as a presentation director and worked on shows including Prime Suspect and Cracker. He was involved in the transmission of more than 40,000 hours of programming, writing thousands of commercials and news stories between 1977 to 1995.

Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher (Image: Photo Credit: Karen Ballard)

After being made redundant due to corporate restructuring, Lee decided to start writing novels, stating they are "the purest form of entertainment” and in 1997 Killing Floor was published. He moved to the United States the following summer.

The books spawned two movies featuring Tom Cruise as the eponymous hero. A television series was released last year on Amazon Prime.

Lee is in the process of retiring and handing over the torch of the Jack Reacher novels to his younger brother Andrew.

“Inspirational life stories”

Professor John Latham, Coventry University Vice-Chancellor, said: “I would like to congratulate all those who will be getting this recognition from Coventry University. They are richly deserving of their honour for their incredible achievements in areas such as writing, music, health and social injustice.

“Their inspirational life stories and work show what can be achieved and echo what we here at Coventry University hope to inspire within our students as we help them be the very best they can.”

Who else is receiving an Honorary Doctorate?

Anna Meredith

Anna Meredith will become an Honorary Doctor of Arts. Anna began her musical education at the University of York before studying at the Royal College of Music.

Her musical performances have been included in the BBC ’s Last Night of the Proms, as well as flashmob events at the M6 Services, international fashion campaigns for the likes of Prada, Chloe and Fendi, Apple adverts and classical concert halls worldwide.

She made the 2018 BBC Women’s Hour Power List and won the 2019 Ivor Novello Composer Award for Innovation, as well as being awarded an MBE for Services to Music in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in that same year. Other recent projects have included orchestral arrangements for Laura Marling, The Stranglers and Sigur Ros.

Anna said: “I feel so incredibly lucky and privileged to receive this enormous honour from Coventry University and I look forward to building a relationship with the university and their media and performing arts department. Huge congratulations to everyone graduating.”

Sean McGovern

An Honorary Doctorate of Law will be bestowed upon Sean McGovern, the Senior Coroner for Coventry and Warwickshire, a post he has held for 14 years. Sean, who has lived and worked in the Coventry area for more than 30 years, is currently the Vice President of The Coroner's Society of England and Wales and will become the President next year.

He is a champion of diversity and has been instrumental in increasing the number of people from ethnic minorities in the coroner profession. Sean said: “I have practised law in and around Coventry for the past 30 years as a barrister, legal author, coroner and judge and it is a great privilege to receive this honour from Coventry University.”

Maxie Hayles

Community champion and activist Maxie Hayles MBE will be recognised for his hard work in fighting discrimination and injustice over the past few decades.

Maxie came to Britain aged 16 from Jamaica and initially trained as a social worker, while also working voluntarily at the Birmingham Racial Attacks Monitoring Unit (BRAMU) from 1989-2012. More than 5,000 live cases came to the unit during that period dealing with hate crime including discrimination against disability, religion, race and sexual orientation. Under Maxie's leadership, BRAMU organised and hosted the first hate crime conference in conjunction with Birmingham City Council in 2010.

He will become an Honorary Doctor of Arts. Maxie said: “I am humbled and honoured to accept this award. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to receive such an honour.

“I accept this award on behalf of young people in order to motivate and to inspire. My message to all young people is this: we live in a society which rewards, but in order to reap its benefits one needs to participate.”

Dr Charles Ashton

Dr Charles Ashton, the Medical Director of the South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust since 2014, will become an Honorary Doctor of Science with the university. He previously spent 14 years as Medical Director of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. In addition to his responsibilities as a member of the SWFT Board of Directors, Dr Ashton also chairs the Solihull Clinical Reference Group for urgent care and is a secondary care representative on the Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group.

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