Sir David Charles Calcutt, QC (2 November 1930 – 11 August 2004) was an eminent barrister and public servant, knighted in 1991. He was the Master of Magdalene College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

from 1985 to 1994. He was also responsible for the creation of the

Press Complaints Commission The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC closed on Monday 8 September 2014, and was replaced by the Inde ...

. He is buried in the churchyard of St Beuno's Church at Culbone, Somerset.

Early life and education

Calcutt was born at

Marlow, Buckinghamshire Marlow (; historically Great Marlow or Chipping Marlow) is a town and civil parish within the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England. It is located on the River Thames, south-southwest of High Wycombe, west-northwest of Maidenhead and ...

, where his father, Henry, a pharmacist, ran a local high-street chemist's shop. Calcutt was a chorister in the choir of

Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the Anglican diocese of Oxford, which consists of the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. It is also the chapel of Christ Church, a college of the University of Oxford. This dual r ...

whilst attending

Christ Church Cathedral School Christ Church Cathedral School is an independent preparatory school for boys in Oxford, England. It is one of three choral foundation schools in the city and educates choristers of Christ Church Cathedral, and the Chapels of Worcester College ...

, then went on to

Cranleigh School Cranleigh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the village of Cranleigh, Surrey. History It was opened on 29 September 1865 as a boys' school 'to provide a sound and plain education, on the principles o ...

. As an undergraduate at the

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 ...

he was a choral scholar in the

Choir of King's College, Cambridge The Choir of King's College, Cambridge is an English Anglican choir. It is considered one of today's most accomplished and renowned representatives of the great English choral tradition. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded King's Col ...

. Calcutt was known throughout the 1980s and 1990s for preparing reports and inquiries into various areas of public life. he was asked to produce a report on a fire in the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

in which eight people died, then soon afterwards to produce a report into the Cyprus Seven spy affair, in which seven servicemen were acquitted of having passed secrets to the Russians. He is most famous for suggesting the creation of the

in 1990, though he was later quite scathing about it describing it as In 1969, he married Barbara Walker, a psychiatric worker. In later life, he developed

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

, but he remained "cheerful and genial".

References

ie 1930 births 2004 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Fellows of Magdalene College, Cambridge Masters of Magdalene College, Cambridge English barristers Knights Bachelor Lawyers awarded knighthoods Members of the Middle Temple English King's Counsel English legal scholars 20th-century English lawyers {{England-law-bio-stub