P. J. Grigg
Sir Percy James Grigg, KCB, KCSI, PC (16 December 18905 May 1964), often referred to as P J Grigg and later better known as Sir James Grigg, was a British civil servant who was unexpectedly moved, at the behest of then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill, from being the Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the War Office to become Secretary of State for War, the political head of the same department during the Second World War. Background and education The son of Frank Alfred Grigg, a carpenter, James Grigg was born in Exmouth and won a scholarship to Bournemouth School and St John's College, Cambridge where he studied mathematics, achieving first-class honours in both parts of his tripos. Career in civil service Grigg came first in the civil service examination in 1913, and commenced work at the Treasury. During and after the First World War he served successive Chancellors including Winston Churchill. Grigg then became Chairman of the Board of Customs and Excise and Cha ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Right Honourable
''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is predominantly used today as a style associated with the holding of certain senior public offices in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and, to a lesser extent, Australia. ''Right'' in this context is an adverb meaning 'very' or 'fully'. Grammatically, ''The Right Honourable'' is an adjectival phrase which gives information about a person. As such, it is not considered correct to apply it in direct address, nor to use it on its own as a title in place of a name; but rather it is used in the Grammatical person, third person along with a name or noun to be modified. ''Right'' may be abbreviated to ''Rt'', and ''Honourable'' to ''Hon.'', or both. ''The'' is sometimes dropped in written abbreviated form, but is ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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War Office
The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at which point its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from this source, which is available under th Open Government Licence v3.0 © Crown copyright It was equivalent to the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty at that time, which was responsible for the Royal Navy (RN), and (much later) the Air Ministry, which oversaw the Royal Air Force (RAF). The name 'Old War Office' is also given to the former home of the department, located at the junction of Horse Guards Avenue and Whitehall in central London. The landmark building was sold on 1 March 2016 by HM Government for more than British pound, £350 million, on a 250-year lease for conversion int ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achieving rapid promotion as a young Conservative member of Parliament, he became foreign secretary aged 38, before resigning in protest at Neville Chamberlain's appeasement policy towards Mussolini's Fascist regime in Italy. He again held that position for most of the Second World War, and a third time in the early 1950s. Having been deputy to Winston Churchill for almost 15 years, Eden succeeded him as the leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister in 1955, and a month later won a general election. Eden's reputation as a skilled diplomat was overshadowed in 1956 when the United States refused to support the Anglo-French military response to the Suez Crisis, which critics across party lines regarded as a historic setback for B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Oliver Stanley
Oliver Frederick George Stanley (4 May 1896 – 10 December 1950) was a prominent British Conservative politician who held many ministerial posts before his early death. Background and education Stanley was the second son of Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby, by his wife Lady Alice, daughter of William Montagu, 7th Duke of Manchester. Edward Stanley, Lord Stanley, was his elder brother. He was educated at Eton, but did not proceed to the University of Oxford due to the outbreak of the First World War. Military career During the First World War, Stanley was commissioned into the Lancashire Hussars, before transferring to the Royal Field Artillery in 1915. He achieved the rank of captain, and won both the Military Cross and the Croix de Guerre. Political career After he was demobilised, Stanley was called to the bar by Gray's Inn in 1919. In the 1924 general election he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Westmorland. From 1945 he sat for Bristol West. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron Hore-Belisha
Isaac Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron Hore-Belisha, PC (; 7 September 1893 – 16 February 1957) was a British Liberal, then National Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) and Cabinet Minister. He later joined the Conservative Party. He proved highly successful in modernising the British road system in 1934–1937 as Minister of Transport. As War Secretary, 1937–1940, he feuded with the commanding generals and was removed in 1940. Some writers believe anti-semitism played a role in both his dismissal and in blocking his appointment as Minister of Information. One historian compares his strong and weak points: His name is still widely associated in the UK with the introduction of flashing amber " Belisha beacons" at pedestrian crossings while he was Minister for Transport. Background and education Isaac Leslie Belisha was born into a Jewish family in Hampstead, London, on 7 September 1893. He was the only son of Jacob Isaac Belisha and his wife Elizabeth Miriam Miers. Hi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Prime Minister Of The United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative in the United Kingdom, royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet, and selects its Minister of the Crown, ministers. Modern prime ministers hold office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, so they are invariably Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), members of Parliament. The office of prime minister is not established by any statute or constitutional document, but exists only by long-established Constitutional conventions of the United Kingdom, convention, whereby the monarch appoints as prime minister the person most likely to Confidence motions in the United Kingdom, command the confidence of the House of Commons. In practice, thi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is near Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago., "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. ... Coalescence dates for most non-European populations averag ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Board Of Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, petroleum revenue tax and stamp duty. More recently, the Inland Revenue also administered the Tax Credits schemes, whereby monies, such as Working Tax Credit (WTC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), are paid by the government into a recipient's bank account or as part of their wages. The Inland Revenue was also responsible for the payment of child benefit (from 1999). The Inland Revenue was merged with HM Customs and Excise to form HM Revenue and Customs which came into existence on 18 April 2005. The current name was promoted by the use of the expression "from Revenue and Customs" in a series of annual radio, and to a lesser extent, television public information broadcasts in the 2000s and 2010s. History The Board of Taxes The beginnings of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Board Of 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 collection of customs duties, excise duties, and other indirect taxes. The payment of customs dues has been recorded in Britain for over one thousand years and HMCE was formed from predecessor bodies with a long history. With effect from 18 April 2005, HMCE merged with the Inland Revenue (which was responsible for the administration and collection of direct taxes) to form a new department: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Activities The three main functions of HMCE were revenue collection, assessment and preventive work, alongside which other duties were performed. Revenue collection On behalf of HM Treasury, officers of HM Customs and Excise levied customs duties, excise duties, and other indirect taxes (such as Air Passenger Duty, C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in European theatre of World War I, Europe and the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, Middle East, as well as in parts of African theatre of World War I, Africa and the Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I, Asia-Pacific, and in Europe was characterised by trench warfare; the widespread use of Artillery of World War I, artillery, machine guns, and Chemical weapons in World War I, chemical weapons (gas); and the introductions of Tanks in World War I, tanks and Aviation in World War I, aircraft. World War I was one of the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflicts in history, resulting in an estimated World War I casualties, 10 million military dead and more than 20 million wounded, plus some 10 million civilian de ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 system, taxation, Infrastructure, state infrastructure, and economic growth. It is led by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, chancellor of the exchequer, currently Rachel Reeves since 5 July 2024. The Treasury's main offices are located in London and Darlington, with additional offices in Edinburgh and Norwich. It is one of the smallest government departments in terms of staff numbers, but widely considered the most powerful. History The origins of the Treasury of England have been traced by some to an individual known as Henry the Treasurer, a servant to King William the Conqueror. This claim is based on an entry in the Domesday Book showing the individual Henry "the treasurer" as a landowner in Winchester, where the royal treasure was sto ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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British 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 by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. As in other states that employ the Westminster political system, the Civil Service – often known by the metonym of Whitehall – forms an inseparable part of the British government. The executive decisions of government ministers are implemented by the Civil Service. Civil servants are employees of the Crown and not of the British parliament. Civil servants also have some traditional and statutory responsibilities which to some extent protect them from being used for the political advantage of the party in power. Senior civil servants may be called to account to Parliament. In general use, the term ''civil servant'' in the United Kingdom does not includ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |