Talk:John Thorn (headmaster)

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Use of autobiography

Since a substantial autobiography exists, this biography should seek to make use of it to communicate at least something about his work, hence my addition. Bearing in mind Wikipedia concerns about use of autobiography as a single source, I have limited my addition to statement of his self-expressed values, beliefs and intentions - areas where autobiography is a suitable source. Carlwark (talk) 11:18, 19 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Might not a reference to this story, and the subject's non-participation in the enquiry, be added? https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/jan/18/winchester-college-christian-forum-society-report-child-abuse — Preceding unsigned comment added by C.cohen (talk • contribs) 12:54, 19 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Would be necessary to study the lengthy new report to which that Guardian article gives a link, which I shall do at some stage. My reading of “non-participation in the enquiry” is that it may be about admissibility of evidence from someone so elderly, c. 97 years old, not refusal to help. After all, Thorn was the first person to announce this scandal to the world through his 1989 autobiography where there’s a page and a half about the Winchester Christian Forum cult and the beatings and his horrified response to discovering this – the bare bones of the whole story except he didn’t name the perpetrator, though clearly enough described for Winchester circles to know exactly who. Then, some 30 years later, Channel 4 News discovered and publicised the shocking episode, hence eventually yesterday’s report. Carlwark (talk) 20:42, 19 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The first newspaper obituary of Thorn has appeared, so we now have a reliable independent source. The article of a living person should certainly not have relied so heavily on an autobiography, as this was inevitably vulnerable to conscious or unconscious selection and emphasis which make for non-neutrality. An article on a deceased person is permitted to use autobiographical claims, but these should still always be evaluated for neutrality. The current shape of the article is definitely unbalanced with the lengthy "Actions as headmaster" section, and the text there, despite recent edits, remains too close to advocacy of Thorn's "side". I'll see what can be extracted from the Telegraph obituary, and will try to work some of the autobiographical material into the main text. Chiswick Chap (talk) 09:13, 1 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]