Alistair Hargreaves

In the novel Cat Among the Pigeons, Major the Hon. Alistair Hargreaves is the father of Alison. Unlike the other parents of pupils at Meadowbank he doesn’t have a chauffeur, he drives a battered old Austin. He arrived at the school looking very harassed but Miss Vansittart put him at his ease by greeting him and inviting him to see Alison's room for himself. Ann Shapland observed that this kind of diplomatic skill showed that Miss Vansittart really was a "miniature" replica of Miss Bulstrode. The invitation to see Alison's room probably indicates that Hargreaves is new to the school and Alison is arriving for the first time. Nonetheless, the text notes that Alison was a lot calmer than her father.