Sir Thomas James Barnes (21 March 1888 – 4 February 1964) was an English lawyer, who served as

HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor The Government Legal Department (previously called the Treasury Solicitor's Department) is the largest in-house legal organisation in the United Kingdom's Government Legal Service. The department is headed by the Treasury Solicitor. This office g ...

between 1934 and 1953.

Career

Thomas James Barnes was born on 21 March 1888 in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

to Thomas Barnes, a clerk in the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cou ...

, and Esther Mary, ''née'' Pither. After leaving the

Mercers' School The Mercers' School was an independent school in the City of London, England, with a history going back at least to 1542, and perhaps much further. It was operated by the Worshipful Company of Mercers and was closed in 1959. History After the diss ...

,Robert Speed
"Barnes, Sir Thomas James"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, September 2004). Retrieved 31 October 2018. in 1906 he was articled to R. J. Ball of H. C. Coote and Ball, and was admitted a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

in 1911."Sir Thomas Barnes", ''The Times'' (London), 6 February 1964, p. 14. He joined the

Lord Chancellor's Department The Lord Chancellor's Department was a United Kingdom government department answerable to the Lord Chancellor with jurisdiction over England and Wales. Created in 1885 as the Lord Chancellor's Office with a small staff to assist the Lord Chancell ...

and became Principal Clerk, but his career there was interrupted by war service in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

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 ...

. After being discharged in 1917, he joined the Ministry of Shipping's legal department and became the Legal Adviser in 1919, the same year that he was appointed an Assistant Solicitor to the

Board of Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, ...

. The following year, he was appointed Solicitor to the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

. After more than 13 years in this office, he was appointed

in 1934, the head of the government's legal department. He remained in the office until retiring in 1953. He was appointed a

Commander of 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 ...

in 1920, and was then knighted three times, firstly as a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

in 1927, then as a 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 ...

in 1938, in which order he was promoted in 1948 to Knight Grand Cross."Barnes, Sir Thomas James"
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 31 October 2018. In an entry in the ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Robert Speed says that Barnes "was the first solicitor ever to be appointed to these offices M Procurator General and Treasury Solicitorand he proved to be the outstanding government lawyer of his generation." His period in office witnessed substantial growth in the size of his Department's staff, while the responsibilities added to the role during the

Second World War 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 ...

were considerable. He was also responsible for the Tribunals of Inquiry following the Budget Leak in 1936 and the Lynskey Tribunal of 1948. In retirement, Barnes was a member of the

Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Commission The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competition regulator unde ...

, helped to revise the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Canon Law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

, and played golf, his favourite sport. He died in

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 4 February 1964, leaving a widow, Elisie Margaret (formerly Clover; ''née'' Alexander), whom he had married nearly forty years earlier.

Likenesses

Two photographic portraits
made in 1953 by Navana Vandyk in the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

(reference
NPG x130326NPG x130327
.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Thomas 1888 births 1964 deaths People from Wilmslow People educated at Mercers' School British solicitors Knights Bachelor Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Civil servants in the Lord Chancellor's Department Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I Civil servants in the Ministry of Shipping (United Kingdom)

Career

Likenesses

Archives

References