George Coldstream
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Sir George Phillips Coldstream (20 December 1907 – 19 April 2004) was a British
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 civil servant who served as Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Department 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 ...
from 4 June 1954 to 5 April 1968. Born to an upper-middle-class family, Coldstream was educated at
Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...
and
Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...
, where he read law. In 1930 he was
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
Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...
, but worked as a barrister for only four years before he was recruited into the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, where he served as Assistant to the
Parliamentary Counsel to the Treasury The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) is responsible for drafting all government bill (law), bills introduced to the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Established in 1869, the OPC is part of the Cabinet Office and led by the First Parlia ...
. In 1939 he became a legal assistant in the Lord Chancellor's Department, and in 1944 became Deputy Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Department. When Sir Albert Napier retired as Permanent Secretary in 1954, Coldstream (his deputy) succeeded him, as per convention. As Permanent Secretary Coldstream served under four
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 ...
s and was described as "one of the 10 men who run Britain". He helped draft the
Life Peerages Act 1958 The Life Peerages Act 1958 ( 6 & 7 Eliz. 2. c. 21) established the modern standards for the creation of life peers by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Background This Act was passed during the Conservative governments of 1957–1964, when H ...
, the
Peerage Act 1963 The Peerage Act 1963 (c. 48) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that permits female hereditary peers and all Scottish hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords and allows newly inherited hereditary peerages to be disclaimed. ...
and what became the
Royal Assent Act 1967 The Royal Assent Act 1967 (c. 23) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that amends the law relating to the signification of royal assent to allow laws from the Parliament of the United Kingdom to be enacted through the pronunciati ...
. He also served on the Beeching Commission, helped create the
Law 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 played a part in appointing judges now recognised as particularly influential, including Lords Denning,
Devlin Devlin may refer to: * Devlin (surname) * Devlin (given name) * Devlin (rapper), a British rapper * ''Devlin'' (TV series), a 1974 animated TV series by Hanna-Barbera * ''Devlin'', a 1988 novel by Roderick Thorp * ''The Devil and Max Devlin ' ...
and Diplock. After retirement on 5 April 1968, Coldstream continued to advise the government, and served as chairman of the
Council of Legal Education The Council of Legal Education (CLE) was an English supervisory body established by the four Inns of Court to regulate and improve the legal education of barristers within England and Wales. History The council was established in 1852 by the Inns o ...
from 1970 to 1973. He died on 19 April 2004 in
Seaford, East Sussex Seaford is a town in East Sussex, England, east of Newhaven, East Sussex, Newhaven and west of Eastbourne.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. I ...
. He was appointed as 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 ...
, 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 ...
and
Queen'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 ...
.


Early life and education

Coldstream was born on 20 December 1907 in
North Kensington North Kensington is an area of west and northwest London. It is north of Notting Hill and south of Kensal Green predominately in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and partly in the London Borough of Brent and City of Westminster. The ...
, London to Francis Menzies Coldstream, a stockbroker, and his wife Carlotta Mary Young. In 1921 he began to attend
Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...
, and matriculated to
Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...
in 1926 to read law. After gaining a
second 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 ...
in
Jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...
he left in 1929, planning to become 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
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
Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...
in November 1930.


Early career

Coldstream started his career practising 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 ...
, but after four years was hired by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, the civil service body tasked with drafting
Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...
s for the
Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...
. From 1934 to 1937 he served as Assistant to the
Parliamentary Counsel to the Treasury The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) is responsible for drafting all government bill (law), bills introduced to the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Established in 1869, the OPC is part of the Cabinet Office and led by the First Parlia ...
, and in 1939 he was transferred to the
Lord Chancellor's Department The Lord Chancellor's Department was a United Kingdom government department answerable to the Lord Chancellor with jurisdiction over England and Wales. Created in 1885 as the Lord Chancellor's Office with a small staff to assist the Lord Chance ...
to serve as a legal assistant. In 1944 he became Deputy Clerk of the Crown and Assistant Permanent Secretary. Between 1944 and 1946 he served as a member of the British War Crimes Executive, preparing files for the
Nuremberg Trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...
in which he played a significant role, and from 1947 to 1953 he sat on the Evershed Committee. In 1948 he was Secretary of the Inter-Party Conference on House of Lords Reform. When Sir Albert Napier retired as Permanent Secretary on 4 June 1954, Coldstream succeeded him.


Permanent Secretary

As Permanent Secretary Coldstream served with distinction, and played a part in some of the most important reforms of his era, as well as executing his normal duties. In 1958 he helped prepare the Life Peerages Act, which built directly on the findings of the 1948 Inter-Party Conference, and was also partly responsible for the
Peerage Act 1963 The Peerage Act 1963 (c. 48) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that permits female hereditary peers and all Scottish hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords and allows newly inherited hereditary peerages to be disclaimed. ...
. After consultation with 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 ...
he helped write the
Royal Assent Act 1967 The Royal Assent Act 1967 (c. 23) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that amends the law relating to the signification of royal assent to allow laws from the Parliament of the United Kingdom to be enacted through the pronunciati ...
, and although he privately disagreed with it he also supervised the team drafting the Law Commission Act 1965, which established the
Law 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 ...
. At the same time he supervised and influenced judicial appointments. During his tenure as Permanent Secretary, Coldstream saw Lords Denning,
Devlin Devlin may refer to: * Devlin (surname) * Devlin (given name) * Devlin (rapper), a British rapper * ''Devlin'' (TV series), a 1974 animated TV series by Hanna-Barbera * ''Devlin'', a 1988 novel by Roderick Thorp * ''The Devil and Max Devlin ' ...
, Diplock and Wilberforce be made
Law Lords Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...
, and Lords
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, Dankwerts and Russell take up seats as
Lord Justices of Appeal Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
. In 1966 he helped prepare the Beeching Commission on
Quarter Sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts that were traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388; they were extended to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535. Scotland establ ...
, and served as a member until it finished its report in 1969. From 1970 to 1973 he sat as chairman of the
Council of Legal Education The Council of Legal Education (CLE) was an English supervisory body established by the four Inns of Court to regulate and improve the legal education of barristers within England and Wales. History The council was established in 1852 by the Inns o ...
. He was an Honorary Fellow of the
American College of Trial Lawyers The American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) is a professional association of trial lawyers from the United States and Canada. Founded in 1950, the College is dedicated to maintaining and improving the standards of trial practice, especially tri ...
, and spent some time as a consultant to the American Institute of Judicial Administration. He retired in 1968, long before his mandatory retirement date, and moved to
Seaford, East Sussex Seaford is a town in East Sussex, England, east of Newhaven, East Sussex, Newhaven and west of Eastbourne.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. I ...
, where he died on 19 April 2004.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coldstream, George 1907 births 2004 deaths British barristers Permanent Secretaries to the Lord Chancellor's Office Civil servants in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (United Kingdom) People educated at Rugby School