Laurence Norman Helsby, Baron Helsby (27 April 1908 – 5 December 1978) 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 ...

Early life

Laurence Helsby was born on 27 April 1908 and educated at Sedbergh School in Cumbria, before studying at

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...

. He lectured in economics at the University College of the South West of England (a predecessor institution of the University of Exeter) between 1930 and 1931 and at the University of Durham between 1931 and 1945.

Career

In 1946, he joined the

Civil Service 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 ...

, initially as an Assistant Secretary in the Treasury, before becoming

Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister The Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is a senior official in the United Kingdom Civil Service who acts as principal private secretary to the prime minister of the United Kingdom. The holder of this office is ...

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...

, between 1947 and 1950. After a period working in the Ministry of Food, he was appointed First Civil Service Commissioner in 1954, transferring in 1959 to become

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...

of the

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 1963, he was made joint Permanent Secretary to the Treasury and Head of the Home Civil Service. Following his retirement, he was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

on 21 May 1968 with the title Baron Helsby, of Logmore in the County of Surrey. Helsby was made a

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) in the

1950 New Year Honours The 1950 New Years Honours were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 2 January 1950 for the Unite ...

, and was advanced to

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

(GCB) in the

1963 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1963 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries ...

; he had also been previously knighted (KBE) in the

1955 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1955 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1955 to celebrat ...

. He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of Keble College in 1959, and received honorary degrees from the universities of Exeter and Durham.

Personal life

He married in 1938 to Wölmett whom he had met whilst teaching at Durham. The union produced a son and a daughter. Lord Helsby died on 5 December 1978.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helsby, Laurence Helsby, Baron 1908 births 1978 deaths British civil servants Permanent Secretaries of HM Treasury Permanent Secretaries of the Ministry of Labour Civil servants in the Ministry of Food People educated at Sedbergh School Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Crossbench life peers Principal Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister Life peers created by Elizabeth II