Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Eric Arthur Seal (16 September 1898 – 31 March 1972) was a British

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 ...

who served as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister,

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

; and as Principal Private Secretary to Winston Churchill in his role as

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

in 1939. These two positions are public, rather than private posts. He was chairman of the UK Civil Service for seventeen years.

Early life

Eric Arthur Seal was born in Ilford,

London Borough of Redbridge The London Borough of Redbridge is a London borough established in 1965. The borough shares boundaries with the Epping Forest District and the ceremonial county of Essex to the north, with the London Borough of Waltham Forest to the west, the ...

, the son of Arthur John Todd Seal and Wilhelmina Henrietta "Mina" Youll. His parents had married in

Edmonton, London Edmonton is a town in north London, England within the London Borough of Enfield, a local government district of Greater London. The northern part of the town is known as Lower Edmonton or Edmonton Green, and the southern part as Upper Edmonto ...

on 10 August 1895. He was the eldest of 6 children. During 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 ...

he served as a

Second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

and later in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

No. 62 Squadron RAF No. 62 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was originally established as a Royal Flying Corps squadron in 1916 and operated the Bristol F2B fighter in France during the last year of the First World War. After the war the squadron was disbanded and it ...

Career

Seal initially entered the Patent Office in 1921, and continued to work his way through the UK Civil Service ranks within the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

from 1925 onwards. He is referred to in Arthur Marder’s memoirs as a person of influence within the Admiralty. Seal had served as Principal Private Secretary to

Duff Cooper Alfred Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich, (22 February 1890 – 1 January 1954), known as Duff Cooper, was a British Conservative Party politician and diplomat who was also a military and political historian. First elected to Parliament in 19 ...

and

James Stanhope, 7th Earl Stanhope James Richard Stanhope, 7th Earl Stanhope, (11 November 1880 – 15 August 1967), styled Viscount Mahon until 1905, and known as the Earl Stanhope from 1905 until his death, was a British Conservative politician. Background Stanhope was the eld ...

in their respective roles as First Lord of the Admiralty. On the 3 September 1939 whilst in the First Sea Lord's office shortly after 11'o'clock when the ultimatum sent to the Germans was unanswered, Seal bowed to

Ethel Goodenough Ethel Goodenough CBE or Ethel Mary Goodenough; usually known as "Angela" Goodenough (12 January 1900 – 10 February 1946) was a British naval officer who was the deputy director of the Women's Royal Naval Service when it was reformed in 1939. ...

and said "Miss Goodenough, I have the honour to tell you that we are at war". Within the eight months that Churchill served as First Lord of the Admiralty, Seal proved himself to be invaluable, to the extent that just weeks into Churchill’s role of

Prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, the 1st Earl Alexander of Hillsborough was instructed to release Seal from his daily duties, and transfer him for an extended period to

Downing Street Downing Street is a street in Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Situated off Whitehall, it is long, and a few minutes' walk ...

to serve as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime minister. In this role, he became Churchill’s trusted advisor on public affairs. Seal had the ability to get to the bottom of the subject matter and has been described as Churchill’s ferret. As Churchill’s Principal Private Secretary, Seal was present at the most important strategic conferences of the early war period, and the making of key political decisions affecting 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 ...

, such as the

Attack on Mers-el-Kébir The Attack on Mers-el-Kébir (Battle of Mers-el-Kébir) on 3 July 1940, during the Second World War, was a British naval attack on neutral French Navy ships at the naval base at Mers El Kébir, near Oran, on the coast of French Algeria. The atta ...

and the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

. According to Seal: On 4 July 1940,

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

told the French ambassador that he would have done the same.

Jean Lacouture Jean Lacouture (9 June 1921 – 16 July 2015) was a journalist, historian and author. He was particularly famous for his biographies. Career Jean Lacouture was born in Bordeaux, France. He began his career in journalism in 1950 in ''Combat'' ...

, in a biography of

Charles De Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

, blamed the tragedy mainly on miscommunication. Other aides during this period included

Jock Colville Sir John Rupert Colville, CB, CVO (28 January 1915 – 19 November 1987) was a British civil servant. He is best known for his diaries, which provide an intimate view of number 10 Downing Street during the wartime Premiership of Winston Churchi ...

, John Peck,

Leslie Rowan Sir Thomas Leslie Rowan (22 February 1908 – 29 April 1972) was a British civil servant and industrialist. He served in the Colonial Office and HM Treasury, and was Principal Private Secretary to Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee, before ...

Patrick Kinna Patrick Francis Kinna MBE (September 5, 1913 – March 14, 2009) was Winston Churchill's stenographer during World War II. Kinna was born in 1913, the eighth child of Captain Thomas Kinna, who as a boy had met Napoleon III when serving as a ...

and Elizabeth Nel. Seal, in a letter to Arthur Marder, as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, described himself as “a sole survivor” from Churchill’s previous incarnation, as First Lord of the Admiralty (1939–1940).

John Gerald Lang Sir John Gerald Lang, Order of the Bath, GCB (20 December 1896 – 22 September 1984), was a British civil servant who held the position of Permanent Secretary of the Admiralty from 1947 to 1961.''The Times'', Obituary of Sir John Gerald Lang (26 S ...

, a very able and clear headed civil servant in charge of the Admiralty War Registry, described Seal during the Norwegian campaign as “an able man” and “a very assured person and apt to be certain of the rightness of his view”. The

Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers of ...

(CAC) holds a number boxes of his official work papers (from between 1939 and 1955) that cover a wide range of subject matter; from the questionable sympathies of

Axel Wenner-Gren Axel Lennart Wenner-Gren (5 June 1881 – 24 November 1961) was a Swedish entrepreneur and one of the wealthiest men in the world during the 1930s. Early life He was born on 5 June 1881 in Uddevalla, a town on the west coast of Sweden. He w ...

and

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

, to the design of an

air raid shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but many ...

at Chartwell House, Churchill’s weekend residence in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

; to when he was released for “special duties in the Admiralty” during May 1941, and was replaced by John Martin. These new “special duties” were highly strategic and related to the future

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

agreement, which was by now crucial to the security of the United Kingdom. Churchill appointed him as Deputy Secretary of the Admiralty for North America to secure an agreement with the United States. Although his work papers are now part of the Churchill Archives, some of his records, including correspondence with Churchill’s prime scientific adviser

Frederick Lindemann, 1st Viscount Cherwell Frederick Alexander Lindemann, 1st Viscount Cherwell, ( ; 5 April 18863 July 1957) was a British physicist who was prime scientific adviser to Winston Churchill in World War II. Lindemann was a brilliant intellectual, who cut through bureauc ...

during 1945, form part of the National Archives. Personal papers from the time he was a Private Secretary have been made readily available to historians by his family. Seal continued to be a significant influence upon Churchill’s own writings; particularly in any references to

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

. After 1945, Seal held a number of senior civil service roles, such as Chief of Trade and Industries, replacing

Percy Mills, 1st Viscount Mills Percy Herbert Mills, 1st Viscount Mills, (4 January 1890 – 10 September 1968), known as Sir Percy Mills, Bt, between 1953 and 1957 and as The Lord Mills between 1957 and 1962, was a British industrialist, public servant and politician. Backgrou ...

, where he headed various collaborative events with the United States,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

; notable for being a career civil servant leading the British Delegation. In 1947 he was physically described by the

United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...

as wearing glasses, being of medium build and a pipe smoker. During this period he was Vice President of the economic sub-commission on roads and railways Germany (British Element). He later became Deputy Parliamentary Under Secretary for State for Germany in the Foreign Office. Thereafter he moved onto the Ministry of Works. He was knighted (KBE) for his services in the 1955 New Year Honours, and retired as a Deputy Director, Ministry of Works in 1959. His publication on Sir Winston Churchill in 1970 is held within the National Archives. He is listed in ''

Who was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

''. Various sources cite an unpublished autobiography of his life, which provided a personal perspective and a first hand “working level” overview of Churchills inner circle, as well as his experiences during a critical and decisive period of World War II.

Personal

He married Gladys Leadbitter in

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

in 1926. They had three children. A year later he became the brother in law of his work colleague, Noel Atherton, through the latter's marriage to Daisy Phyllis Leadbitter, his wife's younger sister. Seal was active with the Additional Curates Society, an Anglican devotion society whilst living at his home “Seaforth”, located at Woodfield Lane,

Ashtead Ashtead is a large village in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, approximately south of central London. Primarily a commuter settlement, Ashtead is on the single-carriageway A24 between Epsom and Leatherhead. The village is on t ...

on Surrey. Seal died in

West Itchenor West Itchenor is a village and civil parish, on the Manhood Peninsula, in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It lies north of the B2179 Chichester to West Wittering road 4.5 miles (7.3 km) southwest of Chichester. The vill ...

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

on 31 March 1972 at the age of 73. His obituary was published in The Times. His wife died on 20 June 1978.

Legacy

A keen

yachtsman A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

, in 1956, Seal facilitated the purchase of the first Civil Service Sailing Association sailing yacht. The “Melanie”, a 42’ yacht was built in 1919 by the

Abeking & Rasmussen Abeking & Rasmussen (A&R) is a shipyard situated in Lemwerder, near Bremen in the German state of Lower Saxony. The shipyard is on the left bank of the River Weser, and currently comprises five production halls with associated workshops and offi ...

shipyard. Seal and his colleagues restored the yacht. In the 1970s, Seal left his part share in the “Melanie” to Peter Townrow; his final wishes being to keep the vessel in a good state of repair, in order to continue the tradition of utilising the vessel to promote sailing to the underprivileged. He was nominated as the Civil Service Sailing Association’s First Commodore, officially opening the club on 22 June 1958. He was a sizeable monetary contributor to the Civil Service and Post Office Life Boat Fund in aid of the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

. A Civil Service lifeboat #36 was named “The Eric Seal”, in his honour and stationed at

Eyemouth Eyemouth ( sco, Heymooth) is a small town and civil parish in Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is east of the main north–south A1 road and north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. The town's name comes from its location at th ...

in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...

. The lifeboat was officially named by his wife, Lady Seal on 3 August 1973.

References

Works cited