Sir Alfred John Digby Winnifrith KCB (16 October 1908 – 1 January 1994) was a senior British Civil Servant at the Ministry of Agriculture. Winnifrith was born at

Ightham Ightham ( ) is a village in Kent, England, located approximately four miles east of Sevenoaks and six miles north of Tonbridge. The parish includes the hamlet of Ivy Hatch. Ightham is famous for the nearby medieval manor of Ightham Mote ( Natio ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, the son of Rev Bertram Winnifrith. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and Christ Church, Oxford. He entered the Board of Trade in 1932 and went to the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...

in 1934. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he was seconded to be Assistant Secretary to the War Cabinet Office and Civil Service Combined Operation HQ from 1942 to 1944. He was appointed CB in 1950. In 1957, he became Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and was knighted KCB in 1959. On retirement in 1967, Winnifrith was Trustee of the

British Museum (Natural History) The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

from 1967 to 1972, Director General of the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

from 1968 to 1970, a member of the

Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution in the United Kingdom was created under Royal Warrant in 1970 to advise the Queen, Government, Parliament and the public on environmental issues. It was closed on 1 April 2011, as part of the Coali ...

1970 to 1973, a member of the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations m ...

from 1970 to 1983, and of the Hops Marketing Board from 1970 to 1978. He married Lesbia, eldest daughter of Sir Arthur Cochrane, and had three children. His sister was the actress

Anna Lee Anna Lee, MBE (born Joan Boniface Winnifrith; 2 January 1913 – 14 May 2004) was a British actress, labelled by studios "The British Bombshell". Early life Anna Lee was born Joan Boniface Winnifrith in Ightham, (pronounced 'Item'), Kent, th ...

. His son Dr Tom Winnifrith lectured at Warwick University and produced several publications on Greece, the Balkans and the Brontë sisters.Dictionary of Literary Biography
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References

*Times Obituary January 1994 *Who was Who {{DEFAULTSORT:Winnifrith, John 1908 births 1994 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Permanent Secretaries of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Civil servants in the Board of Trade Civil servants in HM Treasury Civil servants in the Cabinet Office Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People from Ightham