Sir Bruce Donald Fraser (18 November 1910 – 22 August 1993) was a Scottish

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Biography

Born on 18 November 1910, Bruce Fraser was educated at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. He served in the

Scottish Office The Scottish Office was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Following the e ...

(1933),

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 ec ...

(1936–1960), the

Ministry of Aviation The Ministry of Aviation was a department of the United Kingdom government established in 1959. Its responsibilities included the regulation of civil aviation and the supply of military aircraft, which it took on from the Ministry of Supply. ...

(1960), the Ministry of Health (1960–1964), the

Department of Education and Science An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

(1964–1965), the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources (1965–1966). He finished his civil service career as

Comptroller and Auditor General An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations. Fre ...

, the head of the

Exchequer and Audit Department The National Audit Office (NAO) is an independent Parliamentary body in the United Kingdom which is responsible for auditing central government departments, government agencies and non-departmental public bodies. The NAO also carries out valu ...

(now the National Audit Office) from 1966–1971. In the period from 1966–1968, Fraser served as External Auditor of the

International Maritime Organization The International Maritime Organization (IMO, French: ''Organisation maritime internationale'') is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference ...

(IMO), which was formerly known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO). He is probably best known now for revising Sir

Ernest Gowers Sir Ernest Arthur Gowers (2 June 1880 – 16 April 1966) is best remembered for his book ''Plain Words,'' first published in 1948, and his revision of Fowler's classic ''Modern English Usage''. Before making his name as an author, he had a long ...

’ classic book ''

The Complete Plain Words ''The Complete Plain Words'', titled simply ''Plain Words'' in its 2014 revision, is a style guide written by Sir Ernest Gowers, published in 1954. It has never been out of print. It comprises expanded and revised versions of two pamphlets th ...

'', written to teach officials and others how to write clearly.Gowers, Ernest ''et al.'' (2002)
''Plain Words,'' pp. xii-xiii.
/ref> By the early 1970s the language had moved on from the post-war era when Gowers had written the first edition. The publisher,

HMSO The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the Un ...

, felt the need to publish an updated version, despite some resistance to tampering with a classic. Fraser was widely judged to have succeeded. His style is more robust than the elegant Gowers, though he is just as masterly in his use of the language. Stylistically they have been compared to George Lyttelton (Gowers) and

Rupert Hart-Davis Sir Rupert Charles Hart-Davis (28 August 1907 – 8 December 1999) was an English publisher and editor. He founded the publishing company Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd. As a biographer, he is remembered for his ''Hugh Walpole'' (1952), as an editor, f ...

(Fraser) of the

Lyttelton/Hart-Davis Letters The Lyttelton/Hart-Davis Letters are a correspondence between two literary Englishmen, George Lyttelton (1883–1962) and Rupert Hart-Davis (1907–99), written between 1955 and Lyttelton's death, and published by Hart-Davis in six volumes betwee ...

. Both editions can be read for pleasure as well as instruction. Fraser enlivens the text with such howlers as: :*I have discussed the question of stocking the proposed poultry plant with my colleagues. :*Bulletin No. 160 on Housing of Pigs from Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. :*Authority is given for you to proceed and gas, preferably yourself :*It was here that the Emperor liked to put on his grand alfresco spectacles. :*Nothing is less likely to appeal to a young woman than the opinions of old men on the pill. :*People in the South East keep their teeth longer than people in the North. :*Prices of different models vary and you should take the advice of an expert on the make. :*Ladies who have kindly undertaken to act as school crossing wardens are reminded again that if they attempt to carry out their duties without their clothing on motorists are unlikely to take notice of them. Fraser adds, ‘Let us not be too censorious about passages like these. They are careless, of course, but they add to the gaiety of life. Let him who is quite sure he has never committed one cast the first stone.’ (Note how in 1973 an official style guide did not feel the need to use gender-neutral language. By the time of the next edition (see next paragraph) there were many pages devoted to that subject. 'Tempora mutantur', Fraser might have remarked, had he not been averse to gratuitous insertion of Latin tags into plain English prose.) In its turn the Fraser edition of ''Plain Words'' grew out of date and was superseded in 1986 by a complete revision by two academics, which remains instructive but is perhaps less likely to be read for pleasure.

Honours

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

( CB), 1956. *

Knight Commander of 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 ...

( KCB), 1961.

Notes

References

* Gowers, Ernest, Sidney Greenbaum and Janet Whitcut. (2002)
''Plain Words.''
Boston: David R. Godine Publisher. (paper) -- (cloth) * International Maritime Organization (IMCO). (1968)
''Resolutions and other decision of the 3rd Extraordinary Assembly and the 5th Assembly.''
London:

. (cloth) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Bruce Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath

Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been a ...

People educated at Bedford School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Civil servants in the Scottish Office Civil servants in HM Treasury Civil servants in the Ministry of Aviation Civil servants in the Ministry of Health (United Kingdom) Civil servants in the Department of Education (United Kingdom) Civil servants in the Exchequer and Audit Department 1910 births 1993 deaths