Sir David Charles Calcutt QC (2 November 1930 – 11 August 2004) was an eminent

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

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, knighted in 1991. He was the Master of Magdalene College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

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 Ind ...

. 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 a cathedral of the Church of England in Oxford, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Oxford and the principal church of the diocese of Oxford. It is also the chapel of Christ Church, Oxford, Christ Church, a colle ...

, whilst attending Christ Church Cathedral School, then went on to Cranleigh School. As an undergraduate at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

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 was created by Henry VI of England, King Henry VI, who founded King's College, Cambridge, in 1441, to provide daily singing in his King's College Chapel, Cambridge, Chapel, ...

Career

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 (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, 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 from Cape Dub ...

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

Personal Life

In 1969, he married Barbara Walker, a psychiatric worker. She died in 2015. In later life Calcutt developed

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

, but he remained "cheerful and genial".

References

ie {{DEFAULTSORT:Calcutt, David 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 People educated at Cranleigh School