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 service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. During

World War II 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 ...

, 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 is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are ...

to the

Ministry of Labour A ministry of labour ('' UK''), or labor ('' US''), also known as a department of labour, or labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, and s ...

Early life

Godfrey Herbert Ince was born at

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'', and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The ea ...

to G. A. R. Ince on 25 September 1891. His schooling took place at

Reigate Grammar School Reigate Grammar School is an 11–18 co-educational private day school in Reigate, Surrey, England. It was established in 1675 by Henry Smith. History The school was founded as a free school for poor boys in 1675 by Alderman Henry Smith with Jo ...

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 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 mathematics, mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and Industrial sector, industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a ...

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

Political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

* 1914 – Senior

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...

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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the first University of London

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team. They were the first team to play at Moscow and then

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. He also played

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

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 f ...

First World War

Ince served with the

Yorkshire Regiment The Royal Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (abbreviated R 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 Future of ...

, the East Lancashire

Artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

and was attached to the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. 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 service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

in 1919 in the

where he was appointed an assistant principle. The following year he became Private Secretary 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 (UK), Labour Party politician, trade unionist and women's rights activist. She became the first female cabinet minister, and the first woman to be a priv ...

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 protection, 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 Welfare spend ...

s. This work culminated in his authoring a report on

Unemployment Insurance Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

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 (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 ...

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

National service National service is a system of compulsory or 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 ...

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 from 1922 to 1940 and ...

, 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. History The practice of having a government officia ...

looking into allegations of bias in news reporting on the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

service of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. 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 Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

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 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 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two 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