Ian Powell Bancroft, Baron Bancroft (23 December 1922 – 19 November 1996) was a British senior civil servant.

Life

He was born at

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

, the son of a teacher. He was educated at Sir William Turner's Grammar School,

Coatham Coatham is an area of Redcar, in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. History There is reputed to be an entry in Domesday Book – the first recorded reference to Coatham as "there is a ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

, where he read English. He served with the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

in France from 1942 to 1943, reaching the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Dalyell, Tam
Obituary: Lord Bancroft
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 22 November 1996. After leaving the Army he joined the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

, serving as Private Secretary to the Second Secretary to the Treasury Sir Henry Wilson Smith from 1948 to 1950, to the

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

Rab Butler Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden (9 December 1902 – 8 March 1982), also known as R. A. Butler and familiarly known from his initials as Rab, was a prominent British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politici ...

from 1953 to 1955, and also to Butler as

Lord Privy Seal The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and abov ...

from 1955 to 1957. He was Principal Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer

Reginald Maudling Reginald Maudling (7 March 1917 – 14 February 1979) was a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1962 to 1964 and as Home Secretary from 1970 to 1972. From 1955 until the late 1960s, he was spoken of as a prospecti ...

in 1964, continuing under

James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the L ...

until 1966, when he became an Under-Secretary to the Treasury. In 1968 he moved to the same position in the new

Civil Service Department In the Government of the United Kingdom, the Minister for the Civil Service is responsible for regulations regarding His Majesty's Civil Service, the role of which is to assist the governments of the United Kingdom in formulating and implementin ...

, then to the

Department of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

as Deputy Secretary and Director General of Organisation and Establishments from 1970 to 1972. From 1972 to 1973 he was a Commissioner of

HM Customs and Excise HM Customs and Excise (properly known as Her Majesty's Customs and Excise at the time of its dissolution) was a department of the British Government formed in 1909 by the merger of HM Customs and HM Excise; its primary responsibility was the ...

, then Second Permanent Secretary at the Civil Service Department until 1975. He returned to the Department of the Environment as

Permanent Secretary A permanent 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 activities. Permanent secretaries are ...

from 1975 to 1977 before becoming Permanent Secretary to the Civil Service Department and

Head of the Home Civil Service In the United Kingdom, the Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy or Secretariat (administrative office), secretariat of Crown employees that supports His Majesty's Government, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government, which is led ...

in 1978. In 1981

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

abolished the Civil Service Department, effectively ending his career.

Honours

He was appointed 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 caregi ...

in the

1971 Birthday Honours The 1971 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments to orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms to reward and highlight citizens' good works, on the occasion of the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. They were announced in suppleme ...

, a

Knight Commander Knight Commander (or Dame Commander) is the second most senior grade of seven British orders of chivalry, three of which are dormant (and one of them continues as a German house order). The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the rec ...

in the

1975 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1975 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 1975 to celebr ...

, and a

Knight Grand Cross A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

1979 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1979 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 countrie ...

. On 15 February 1982 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Bancroft, ''of

in the

County of Cleveland Cleveland was a non-metropolitan county located in North East England which existed between 1974 and 1996. It was a two-tier county and had four boroughs: Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough and Langbaurgh-on-Tees. The county town wa ...

'', and took his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

Personal life

He was married in 1950 to Jean Swaine, by whom he had two sons and a daughter. Lord Bancroft died in London in 1996.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bancroft, Ian, Baron Bancroft 1922 births Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Rifle Brigade officers British Army personnel of World War II Permanent Secretaries of the Civil Service Department Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for the Environment Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath 1996 deaths People educated at Sir William Turner's Grammar School, Redcar Life peers created by Elizabeth II