Dame Mildred Riddelsdell (1 December 1913 – 25 July 2006) was a British civil servant. Along with "Dame

Evelyn Sharp Evelyn Sharp may refer to: * Evelyn Sharp (aviator) (1919–1944), American aviator * Evelyn Sharp (businesswoman) (died 1997), American hotelier *Evelyn Sharp (suffragist) (1869–1955), British suffragist and author *Evelyn Sharp, Baroness Sharp ...

at Housing and Dame

Mary Smieton Dame Mary Guillan Smieton, DBE (5 December 1902 – 23 January 2005) was a British civil servant. She served as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education between 1959 and 1963, only the second woman to achieve the rank of Permanent Secreta ...

at Education, she was one of the first women to reach the pinnacle of the Civil Service".

Early life

She was born on 1 December 1913 at the Old Registry,

Llandaff Llandaff (; ; from 'church' and ''River Taff, Taf'') is a district, Community (Wales), community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bisho ...

, Glamorgan, the second of the three daughters of Harry Joseph Riddelsdell (1866–1941), sub-warden of St. Michael's College, Llandaff, and his wife, Maud Riddelsdell, née Butt (c.1870–1943). She graduated from

Bedford College, London Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for women in the United Kingdom. In 1900, it became a constituent of the University of London. Having played a leading role in the advancement of women in highe ...

, now part of

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. It ...

Career

Riddelsdell was Assistant Secretary,

Ministry of National Insurance National Insurance (NI) is a fundamental component of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It acts as a form of social security, since payment of NI contributions establishes entitlement to certain state benefits for workers and their famili ...

from 1945 to 1950, and Under-Secretary from 1950 to 1965, during which time, she was on loan to the United Nations from 1953 to 1956. In 1945, she had a crucial role in creating the contributory benefits system created by the incoming Labour government, that was to be central to the welfare state. Riddelsdell was Secretary, of the National Incomes Commission from 1962-65. She was Under-Secretary,

Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

in 1965, and Under-Secretary, Ministry of Social Security in 1966. She was Deputy Secretary,

Department of Health and Social Security The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a Ministry (government department), ministry of the Her Majesty's Government, British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed b ...

from 1966 to 1971, and Second Permanent Secretary from 1971 to 1973, and only the third woman to rise to the grade of permanent secretary. She was the Chairman, Civil Service Retirement Fellowship from 1974 to 1977.

Honours

In 1958, she was made a CBE. In 1972, she was the first woman to be appointed Dame Commander 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 ...

Personal life

She never married. She enjoyed reading, gardening and travel.

Later life

She died on 25 July 2006, following a stroke at the Old Prebendal House nursing home in

Shipton-under-Wychwood Shipton-under-Wychwood is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the River Evenlode, Evenlode valley about north of Burford, in the West Oxfordshire district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. The village is one of three ...

, Oxfordshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddelsdell, Mildred 1913 births 2006 deaths British civil servants Dames Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British women politicians