Norman Craven Brook, 1st Baron Normanbrook, (29 April 1902 – 15 June 1967), known as Sir Norman Brook between 1946 and 1964, was a British civil servant. He was

Cabinet Secretary A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...

between 1947 and 1962 as well as joint permanent secretary to

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury or HMT), and informally referred to as the Treasury, is the Government of the United Kingdom’s economic and finance ministry. The Treasury is responsible for public spending, financial services policy, Tax ...

and head of the

Home Civil Service In the United Kingdom, the Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy or secretariat of Crown employees that supports His Majesty's Government, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government, which is led by a cabinet of ministers chosen b ...

from 1956 to 1962.

Background and education

Brook was born at 18, Cricklade Road,

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, the son of Frederick Charles Brook (1867–1937) and Annie (d. 1921), daughter of Thomas Smith, of

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

. Frederick Brook was at different times a schoolmaster, inspector of schools, tax assessor, and district inspector for the Ministry of Health. He was the son of George Brook, of Bradford, a

cabinet-maker A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a Bathroom cabinet, medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically mad ...

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nickn ...

(although himself of recent undistinguished

crofting Crofting (Scottish Gaelic: ') is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production peculiar to the Scottish Highlands, the islands of Scotland, and formerly on the Isle of Man. Within the 19th-century townships, individual crofts were est ...

ancestry, notwithstanding his grandfather

Daniel MacMillan Daniel MacMillan (; 13 September 1813 – 27 June 1857) was a Scottish publisher from the Isle of Arran, Scotland. MacMillan was one of the co-founders of Macmillan Publishers along with his brother Alexander in London. Life Daniel MacMil ...

's success in founding

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...

) was fascinated by the fact that, despite Brook, his Cabinet Secretary, having "no background" and being of comparatively humble origins, he possessed "remarkably sound judgement". Brook was educated at

Wolverhampton Grammar School Wolverhampton Grammar School is a co-educational private school in Wolverhampton, England. History Initially a grammar school for boys, WGS was founded in 1512 by Sir Stephen Jenyns, a master of the ancient guild of Merchant Taylors, who was ...

and

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...

.thepeerage.com Norman Craven Brook, 1st and last Baron Normanbrook
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Maurice Bowra Sir Cecil Maurice Bowra, (; 8 April 1898 – 4 July 1971) was an English classical scholar, literary critic and academic, known for his wit. He was Warden of Wadham College, Oxford, from 1938 to 1970, and served as vice-chancellor of the Univer ...

, who taught Brook at Oxford, remarked when considering his progression to the heart of

the establishment In sociology and in political science, the term the establishment describes the dominant social group, the elite who control a polity, an organization, or an institution. In the Praxis (process), praxis of wealth and Power (social and politica ...

that Brook was "very quick ... Came up with a front pocket stuffed full of pens. Soon disappeared inside. Learned the tricks."

Career

Brook joined the Home Civil Service in 1925 and attained the grade of Principal in 1933 and of Assistant Secretary in 1938. He was Principal Private Secretary to

Sir John Anderson John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley, (8 July 1882 – 4 January 1958), was a Scottish Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant and politician who is best known for his service in the War Cabinet during the Second World War, for which he ...

from 1938 to 1942, Deputy Secretary (Civil) to the War Cabinet in 1942,

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 ...

at the

Ministry of Reconstruction The Ministry of Reconstruction was a department of the United Kingdom government which existed after both World War I and World War II in order to provide for the needs of the population in the post war years. World War I The Ministry of Recons ...

from 1943 to 1945, Additional Secretary to the Cabinet from 1945 to 1946, and

Secretary of the Cabinet The Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office, known informally as the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, is the second-most senior civil servant of the Cabinet Office. It was conventionally joined with the positions of Cabinet Sec ...

from 1947 to 1962. He was also joint permanent secretary to

and head of the

from 1956 to 1962. Brook was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(CB) in 1942, promoted to Knight Commander (KCB) in 1946 and Knight Grand Cross (GCB) in 1951, and sworn of the Privy Council in 1953. Churchill and Brook were colleagues during the Second World War and Churchill's 1951–1955 government. Brook was his adviser. Brook was a member of

The Other Club The Other Club is a British political dining society founded in 1911 by Winston Churchill and F. E. Smith. It met to dine fortnightly in the Pinafore Room at the Savoy Hotel during periods when Parliament was in session. The club's members ove ...

. Brook succeeded Sir Edward Bridges as a secretary to the treasury in 1956. He served there to 1962. On 24 January 1963 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Normanbrook, of Chelsea in the County of London. Between 1964 and 1967 he was chairman of the

Board of Governors of the BBC The Board of Governors of the BBC was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). It consisted of twelve people who together regulated the BBC and represented the interests of the public. It existed from 1927 until it was r ...

. He was one of the twelve

pall bearer A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the Coffin, casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person. Some traditions distinguish between the ...

s at

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

's funeral in 1965.

Personal life

Lord Normanbrook married Ida Mary, daughter of E. A. Goshawk, in 1929. He died in June 1967, aged 65, when the barony became extinct.

References

External links

* Bridges, Edward Ettingdene; The Other Club. ** Colville, John. 1981. The Churchillians.London:Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ** Gilbert Martin. 1983–1988. Winston S.Churchill.Vol.6-8.London:Heinemann. ** Seldon Abthony.1981.Churchill's Indian Summer. London:Hodder and Stoughton. ** Trend, Lord.1981."Brook, Norman Craven, Baron Normanbrook". In the Dictionary of National Biography 1961–1970, edited by E.T.Williams and C.S.Nicholls. Oxford:Oxford University Press. ** ** * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Normanbrook, Norman Brook, 1st Baron 1902 births 1967 deaths People educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Chairmen of the BBC Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath BBC governors Brook, Norman Brook, Norman Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Brook, Norman Hereditary barons created by Elizabeth II

Background and education

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links