Jean Josephine Nunn, CB,

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 ...

(21 July 191624 November 1982) was a senior British civil servant. She served as

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 James Chuter Ede and

Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir, (29 May 1900 – 27 January 1967), known as Sir David Maxwell Fyfe from 1942 to 1954 and as Viscount Kilmuir from 1954 to 1962, was a British Conservative politician, lawyer and judge who combine ...

, during their time as

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national s ...

. She later served as Deputy Secretary of the Cabinet Office. She was the first woman to be admitted to 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 ...

Early life

Nunn was born on 21 July 1916 in

Abbotsham Abbotsham (pronounced Abbotsam) is a village and civil parish in the English county of Devon. In 2001 its population was 434 increasing at the 2011 census to 489. Amenities Abbotsham no longer has a Post Office and General Store but remains ...

, Devon, to John Henry Nunn, and his wife, Doris Josephine Nunn (née Gregory). Her father, an officer in the Royal Field Artillery died during

World War I 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 ...

. She was educated at St Leonard's School in Ealing, and at the Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army, a girls boarding school in Bath, Somerset. In 1934, she

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

into

Girton College Girton College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1 ...

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

. She studied the History

Tripos At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mathe ...

for both Part I and Part II. She graduated in 1937

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

(BA), which was later promoted to

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

(MA).

Career

In 1938, Nunn joined the Home Office, having passed the examination for the administrative grade of Civil Service. In 1941, she was appointed

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 Sir Alexander Maxwell, the

Permanent Under-Secretary of State A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil ...

of the Home Office. From 1947 to 1949, she served as Secretary to the Royal Commission on the Press. From 1949 to 1951, she served as

to James Chuter Ede, the then

. She was the first woman to hold this appointment. When Sir David Maxwell Fyfe became Home Secretary, she remained on as his Principal Private Secretary. In 1961, she was promoted to Assistant Under-Secretary of State and appointed head of the Children's Department. In 1963, she moved to the Cabinet Office. In 1963, she was promoted to Deputy Secretary of the Cabinet Office. She was the first woman to be appointed to that rank. In 1970, she became ill and had to take early retirement. Had she not been, she was heading ultimately towards the leadership of one of the departments.

Later life

Having retired in 1970, she spent the next few years being cared for by a friend. The illness that ended her Civil Service career was cerebral arteriosclerosis. On 24 November 1982, after years of declining health, she died in Oakhill House Nursing Home, Horsham, Sussex. A memorial service was held for her at

St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster ...

, on 18 January 1983. Attendees included senior civil servants and politicians.

Honours

In the 1966

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

, she was appointed

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 ...

(CBE) for her services as Under-Secretary of the Cabinet Office. In the 1970 New Year Honours, she was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB), for her services as Deputy Secretary of the Cabinet Office. This made her the first woman to be appointed to the Order of the Bath.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nunn, Jean 1916 births 1982 deaths British civil servants Companions of the Order of the Bath People educated at the Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Commanders of the Order of the British Empire