Sir James Alan Noel Barlow, 2nd Baronet (25 December 1881 – 28 February 1968) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

civil servant and collector of Islamic and

Chinese art Chinese art is visual art that originated in or is practiced in China, Greater China or by Chinese artists. Art created by Chinese residing outside of China can also be considered a part of Chinese art when it is based in or draws on Chinese ...

. He was

Principal Private Secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in ...

to Ramsay MacDonald, 1933–1934, and later Under-secretary at

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ...

.BARLOW, Sir (James) Alan (Noel)’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 200
accessed 26 May 2011
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Personal life and education

Barlow was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the eldest son of

Sir Thomas Barlow, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Barlow, 1st Baronet, (4 November 1845 – 12 January 1945) was a British royal physician, known for his research on infantile scurvy. Life Barlow was the son of a Lancashire cotton manufacturer and Mayor of Bolton, James Barlow (1 ...

, Royal physician, and his wife Ada Dalmahoy. He attended Marlborough College and

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12t ...

, graduating with a first class degree in ''literae humaniores'' in 1904. In 1911 Barlow and

Nora Darwin Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to: * Nora (name), a feminine given name People with the surname * Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer * Pierre Nora (born 1931), French historian Places Australia * Norah Head, New South Wales, headlan ...

, the daughter of

Horace Darwin Sir Horace Darwin, (13 May 1851 – 22 September 1928), was an English engineer specializing in the design and manufacture of precision scientific instruments. He was a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. Personal life and education Dar ...

and grand-daughter of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

(see

Darwin — Wedgwood family Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

) were married. They had six children: * Joan Helen Barlow (26 May 1912 – 21 February 1954). * Sir Thomas Erasmus Barlow, 3rd Baronet (23 January 1914 – 12 October 2003), naval officer. *

Erasmus Darwin Barlow Erasmus Darwin Barlow, FRCPsych, Fellow of the Zoological Society of London, FZS (15 April 1915 – 2 August 2005) was a British psychiatrist, physiologist and businessman. Born in London in 1915, he was the second son of Sir Alan Barlow, son of S ...

(15 April 1915 – 2 August 2005). * Andrew Dalmahoy Barlow (16 September 1916 – 2006), son: Martin T. Barlow, mathematician. * Hilda Horatia Barlow (14 September 1919 – 1 February 2017) husband:

John Hunter Padel John Hunter Padel (3 May 1913 – 24 October 1999) was a British psychoanalyst and classicist. He was born in Carlisle, where his father Charles Padel was headmaster of Carlisle Grammar School. His mother was Mòrag (née Hunter), 3rd daughte ...

, psychoanalyst; daughter:

Ruth Padel Ruth Sophia Padel FRSL FZS is a British poet, novelist and non-fiction author, known for her poetic explorations of migration, both animal and human, and her involvement with classical music, wildlife conservation and Greece, ancient and modern. ...

, poet. * Horace Basil Barlow (8 December 1921 – 5 July 2020). He was a member of the Savile and

Athenaeum Athenaeum may refer to: Books and periodicals * ''Athenaeum'' (German magazine), a journal of German Romanticism, established 1798 * ''Athenaeum'' (British magazine), a weekly London literary magazine 1828–1921 * ''The Athenaeum'' (Acadia U ...

clubs in London where he was able to meet political contacts during his career. He started collecting Islamic pottery and Chinese ceramics as a child and later donated pieces to museums and the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

. He was also a

bibliophile Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. A bibliophile or bookworm is an individual who loves and frequently reads and/or collects books. Profile The classic bibliophile is one who loves to read, admire and collect books, often ama ...

and interested in archaeology. From 1948 until 1955 he was a trustee of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

, and its chair from 1949 – 1951. He was also a president of the Oriental Ceramic Society from 1943 – 1964.

Career

He began a career as a civil servant as a clerk in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

in 1906. He was then chosen as a junior examiner in the Board of Education and in 1914 became private secretary to the parliamentary secretary. The

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

altered the direction of his career since in 1915 he was moved to the Ministry of Munitions to be private secretary to Christopher Addison, who became the Minister. In 1917 he was promoted to be deputy controller of labour supply and in 1918 became controller of the labour department. When the war ended he was in charge of demobilization and training in the new

Ministry of Labour The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...

. In 1924 he was promoted to principal assistant secretary in charge of the industrial relations department of the Ministry. His role focused on training after 1929 and the establishment of government training centres, although there remained a lack of training by industry. In 1933 he was appointed as the principal private secretary to Ramsay MacDonald, the prime minister. However, the two men were not suited to each other and in 1934 Barlow was transferred to the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...

where he remained, rising to a senior position and being a member of several committees that together were concerned with the machinery of government. It has been considered that he made creative changes that improved the civil service. However he did not lead on changes needed as the government intervened more in economic and social policy from the late 1940s onwards. He was in favour of education expenditure, especially in technical and scientific areas. He chaired a committee in 1945 - 1946 that recommended foundation of a new technological university and increasing the number of science graduates, but it was not implemented. He retired in 1948 but continued to be a member of the Advisory Council on Scientific Policy. Barlow was a knight three times over; a baronet and a knight of both the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

and the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

: *

1918 New Year Honours The 1918 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Ja ...

awarded

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

* 1928 New Year Honours awarded CB * The King's Birthday Honours 1938 awarded KBE * The King's Birthday Honours 1942 awarded KCB * 1947 New Year Honours awarded GCB

References

External links

* http://www.barlowgenealogy.com/england/royalty/SirAlan.htm
THE BARLOW COLLECTION - Art History
-

English art collectors 1881 births 1968 deaths Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Principal Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister {{UK-gov-bio-stub