Sir Albert Edward Alexander Napier (4 September 1881 – 18 July 1973) was a British civil servant who served as Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Department between 1944 and 1954. The youngest son of

Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala Field Marshal Robert Cornelis Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, (6 December 1810 – 14 January 1890) was a British Indian Army officer. He fought in the First Anglo-Sikh War and the Second Anglo-Sikh War before seeing action as chief ...

, Albert Napier studied at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

before being

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1909. In 1915 he became Private Secretary to the

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

, and in 1919 Assistant Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Office. In 1944 he succeeded

Claud Schuster Claud Schuster, 1st Baron Schuster, (22 August 1869 – 28 June 1956), was a British barrister and civil servant noted for his long tenure as Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Office. Born to a Manchester, Mancunian business family, ...

Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Office The Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Department was the most senior civil servant in the Lord Chancellor's Department and a senior member of Civil Service (United Kingdom), Her Majesty's Civil Service. Officially titled Her Majesty's Pe ...

and

Clerk of the Crown in Chancery The Clerk of the Crown in Chancery in Great Britain is a senior civil servant who is the head of the Crown Office in Chancery, Crown Office. The Crown Office, a section of the Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom), Ministry of Justice, has cus ...

. As secretary of the Rushcliffe Committee which produced the report on legal aid and Permanent Secretary of the department tasked with enacting the proposed system, Napier has been described as the "midwife to civil legal aid". Despite this his achievements are consistently overlooked, as he came between two particularly strong and influential Permanent Secretaries,

and Sir George Coldstream. He retired on 4 June 1954, with Coldstream succeeding him, and died on 18 July 1973.

Early life and education

Napier was born on 4 September 1881, the youngest son of

and his second wife Mary Cecelia Smythe Scott. Although he died when Napier was only eight, the career of Napier's father far overshadowed his own despite academic distinction. After being educated at

, where he was a

King's Scholar A King's Scholar, abbreviated KS in the United Kingdom, is the recipient of a scholarship from a foundation created by, or under the auspices of, a British monarch. The scholarships are awarded at certain Public school (United Kingdom), public ...

, Napier matriculated to

on an

Exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

. There he gained a

first-class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

degree, and was elected Eldon Law Scholar in 1906.

Early career

Napier initially worked towards a career as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

, and was

by the

in 1909. His practice did not flourish, however, and in 1915 he became Private Secretary to the Lord Chancellor. In 1916 he became Deputy Serjeant-at-Arms in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, and in 1917 he married Gladys White, the daughter of Sir George Stuart White, with whom he had a daughter and a son, the latter of which was killed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1919 he was appointed Assistant Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Office and Deputy Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, a position he held until 1944, when he was appointed Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Department and

. appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

on 19 October 1922 in the 1922 Dissolution Honours List.

Permanent Secretary

As Permanent Secretary Napier was secretary of the Rushcliffe Committee which produced the report on

legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right ...

, and was also tasked with enacting the proposed system through his role in the Lord Chancellor's Department. At the same time he established a new

Law Reform Commission A law commission, law reform commission, or law revision commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct law reform; that is, to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations or proposals for legal chang ...

, and helped expand the size of the senior courts in England and Wales. Despite his achievements, Napier was consistently overlooked, as he came between two particularly strong and influential Permanent Secretaries,

and Sir George Coldstream. He was promoted

Knight 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 ...

in the

1945 New Year Honours The 1945 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1945 for the Britis ...

, and appointed

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

on 21 May 1947. He retired on 4 June 1954, with Coldstream succeeding him, and was appointed

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

in that year's

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dy ...

. He died on 18 July 1973.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Napier, Albert 1881 births 1973 deaths British barristers Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath British King's Counsel Younger sons of barons Permanent Secretaries to the Lord Chancellor's Office Members of the Inner Temple People educated at Eton College Alumni of New College, Oxford Private secretaries in the British Civil Service