[1] McCrum was appointed Fellow of Corpus Christi in 1950 and was an (innovative) Tutor there under the Master, Sir George Thomson, and was also Director of Classical Studies.
[1] Through a clever strategy, he ensured that straw boater hats ("barges") remained, despite a clear majority in a poll among the boys that favored abolishing them.
His imposing stature and remarkable ability to memorize the names and faces of every boy (and master) in the school within the first week of the autumn term earned him respect and command.
He later described part of his task at Tonbridge as having been "the reduction of stupid anachronisms" and "giving boys more liberties, provided they do not take them"; corporal punishment, he said, was "often the lesser of two evils".
[4] While at Tonbridge, McCrum was an early supporter of the idea of education vouchers, and he opposed Labour Party proposals for school reform.
[9] McCrum banned Nigerian writer Dillibe Onyeama from visiting Eton after the latter alleged having experienced racism at the college.
[citation needed] In addition to a collection of historical documents in Latin and Greek, compiled during his first spell at Corpus Christi, he wrote a biography of Thomas Arnold, the distinguished headmaster of Rugby.