Complex sentence: His father, John James Cawdell Irving (1898--1967), was a career naval officer and a commander in the Royal Navy, and his mother, Beryl Irving ("née" Newington), an illustrator and writer of children's books.
Split into simpler sentences: His father, John James Cawdell Irving (1898--1967), was a career naval officer and a commander in the Royal Navy. His mother, Beryl Irving ("née" Newington), an illustrator and writer of children's books.