Sir Donald William Limon, KCB (29 October 1932 – 26 July 2012) was a British

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

who served as Clerk of the House of Commons from 1994 to 1997.

Early life

Limon was born on 29 October 1932 in

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

to Arthur Limon, the borough treasurer of West Hartlepool, and Dora Limon. He was educated at the Chorister School, Durham, an independent preparatory school adjacent to

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

, and then from 1946 to 1950 at Durham School, then an all-boys

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

in Durham. A keen cricketer, he played for the school first elevens and was captain of his house team. He was Head of House, the Caffinites, in his final year. On leaving school, Limon undertook National Service at the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

brigade headquarters in the Republic of Korea. On discharge, and following a term of school teaching, in 1953 he accepted a local authority award to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics at

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...

. He graduated from the University of Oxford with a second-class Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1956.

Career

In the autumn of 1956, Limon was appointed an Assistant Clerk in the House of Commons, and served in the Clerk's Department until his retirement in 1998. He was Clerk of Financial Committees from 1981 to 1984, Principal Clerk of the Table Office from 1985 to 1989, and the Clerk of Committees from 1989 to 1990. On 1 November 1990, he was appointed Clerk Assistant of the House of Commons. On 1 November 1994, he was appointed Clerk of the House of Commons therefore becoming chief executive of the house.

Honours

Limon was appointed

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 caregive ...

(CB) in the 1993 New Year Honours. He was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 1997

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Limon, Donald 1932 births 2012 deaths Clerks of the House of Commons British civil servants Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People educated at Durham School People from Hartlepool Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford 20th-century British Army personnel Royal Army Service Corps soldiers