Sir Godfrey Herbert Ince (25 September 1891 – 20 December 1960) was a senior British

civil 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 ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he was Director-General of Manpower. After the war, he served in several different positions, including Chairman of Cable and Wireless and

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil s ...

to the

Ministry of Labour The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...

Early life

Godfrey Herbert Ince was born at

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for huma ...

to G. A. R. Ince on 25 September 1891. His schooling took place at Reigate Grammar School and then

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

Scholarship honours

He gained many honours in his education, * 1912 –

Sherbrooke University Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

Mathematical Scholar * 1913 – Mayer de Rothschild Scholar in

Pure mathematics Pure mathematics is the study of mathematical concepts independently of any application outside mathematics. These concepts may originate in real-world concerns, and the results obtained may later turn out to be useful for practical applications ...

* 1913 – Ellen Watson Memorial Scholar in

Applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathemat ...

* 1913 – Senior Mathematics Prizeman * 1914 – Joseph Hume Scholar in

Political economy Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour ...

* 1914 – Senior

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which rel ...

Prizeman, University College

University Sport

He was an organiser and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the first University of London football team. They were the first team to play at Moscow and then

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. He also played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

for

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

First World War

Ince served with the

Yorkshire Regiment The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (abbreviated YORKS) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, created by the amalgamation of three historic regiments in 2006. It lost one battalion as part of the Army 2020 defence ...

, the East Lancashire

Artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieg ...

and was attached to the Royal Engineers during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

. Following injury in France, his mathematical skill was used in during his attachment where he carried out a field survey of the Royal Engineers.

Government service

Ministry of Labour

Ince joined the

Civil Service 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 ...

in 1919 in the

where he was appointed an assistant principle. The following year he became

Private Secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in t ...

to Sir David Shackleton, the Chief Labour Adviser. He then served several Ministers of Labour in this capacity, including the first female Cabinet Minister,

Margaret Bondfield Margaret Grace Bondfield (17 March 1873 – 16 June 1953) was a British Labour Party politician, trade unionist and women's rights activist. She became the first female cabinet minister, and the first woman to be a privy counsellor in th ...

Unemployment Insurance

In 1933 Ince was made Assistant Secretary to the Ministry as well as Chief Insurance Officer under the Unemployment Insurance Act. This latter role saw him spend over a year in Australia and New Zealand to advise their

Social insurance Social insurance is a form of social welfare that provides insurance against economic risks. The insurance may be provided publicly or through the subsidizing of private insurance. In contrast to other forms of social assistance, individuals' ...

s. This work culminated in his authoring a report on

Unemployment Insurance Unemployment benefits, also called unemployment insurance, unemployment payment, unemployment compensation, or simply unemployment, are payments made by authorized bodies to unemployed people. In the United States, benefits are funded by a comp ...

in Australia. Following his return to the UK he was made Principal Assistant Secretary to the Ministry in 1938.

Second World War

Following the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Ince became Under-Secretary to the Ministry of Labour. In this position he had special responsibility for

National service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

Production Executive Secretariat

Ince was seconded to the Production Executive Secretariat in 1941. He was acquainted with the chair of the secretariat,

Ernest Bevin Ernest Bevin (9 March 1881 – 14 April 1951) was a British statesman, trade union leader, and Labour Party politician. He co-founded and served as General Secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union in the years 1922–19 ...

, with whom Ince had met while secretary to Lord Shaw's dock enquiry in 1920.

Director-General of Man Power

At the age of 49, Ince was appointed to the newly created post of Director-General of Man Power in June 1941. He had responsibility over the recruitment of service personnel as well as workers for factories.

Post war and later life

Towards the end of the war in 1944 he was appointed to the post of Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Labour, a position he held until 1956. In 1956 he served as chairman of a committee appointed by the

Postmaster-General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsibl ...

looking into allegations of bias in news reporting on the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...

service of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

. The committee found no evidence to support the claim. However, they did find that there were, "...some errors of judgement and lack of balance in the news broadcast on the B.B.C. Welsh service and suggest the less reliance should be placed on information supplied by outside contributors". Following his retirement Ince moved into business as chairman of Cable and Wireless. He died on 20 December 1960 at hospital in the Wimbledon area of London.

Personal life

Ince married his wife Iris in 1918 with whom he had three Daughters.

Honours

For his service Ince a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as ...

in 1941, a Knight Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1943, and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in 1960.

References and links

BBC's WW2 archive

National Portrait Gallery: Photographs of Sir Godfrey, taken by Rex Coleman

References

1891 births 1960 deaths People educated at Reigate Grammar School British civil servants {{UK-gov-bio-stub