Sir William Arthur Harvey Druitt, KCB (19 April 1910 – 6 February 1973), commonly known as Sir Harvey Druitt, was a British lawyer.

Career

Born on 19 April 1910 to Arthur Druitt of

Gullane Gullane ( or ) is a town on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth in East Lothian on the east coast of Scotland. There has been a church in the village since the ninth century. The ruins of the Old Church of St. Andrew built in the twel ...

, Harvey Druitt was educated at the

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Stockbridge, is now part of the Senior Scho ...

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 ...

."Druitt, Sir (William Arthur) Harvey"
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 2 November 2018. He was admitted a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

in 1935, joining the

Treasury Solicitor's department The Government Legal Department (previously called the Treasury Solicitor's Department) is the largest in-house legal organisation in the United Kingdom's Government Legal Profession. The department is headed by the Treasury Solicitor (formal ...

two years later. In 1956, he was appointed Deputy Treasury Solicitor, and then in 1964 became

HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor The Government Legal Department (previously called the Treasury Solicitor's Department) is the largest in-house legal organisation in the United Kingdom's Government Legal Profession. The department is headed by the Treasury Solicitor (formal ...

. He was the first Treasury Solicitor to be promoted from inside the office. Druitt retired in 1971;"Sir Harvey Druitt", ''The Times'' (London), 7 February 1973, p. 18.H. S. K. and H. G. W., "Sir Harvey Druitt", ''The Times'' (London), 9 February 1973, p. 16. he had been appointed 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 the

1951 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1951 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those count ...

, and promoted to Knight Commander in the

1965 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1965 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the '' Lo ...

. Outside of his legal work, Druitt played rugby for

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

against

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 ...

in 1929, 1930 and 1931, with one obituarist describing him as a "rawboned Scottish forward, good with his feet before forwards forgot how to dribble, and no mean kicker".U. A. T., "Sir Harvey Druitt", ''The Times'' (London), 9 February 1973, p. 16. He played three times for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 1936 before captaining

London Scottish F.C. London Scottish Football Club is a rugby union club in England. The club is a member of both the Rugby Football Union and the Scottish Rugby Union. The club is currently playing in the RFU Championship and share the Athletic Ground, Richmond, A ...

in 1937. In later life, he chaired the Civil Service Sports Council (1965–68) and was President of the

Civil Service Rugby Club Civil Service NI Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Maynard Sinclair Pavilion of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The club was formed in the autumn of 1922 by staff of the newly established Northern Ireland Civil Service. After some ...

, which beat each of the armed forces' teams in one season for the first time under his presidency. Druitt died on 6 February 1973, leaving a widow (Joan Holdsworth, ''née'' Swift) and one son (a daughter had predeceased him).

Likenesses

* Portrait by Walter Bird (black and white, bromide print, 1965) in the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

(reference no
NPG x167263
.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Druitt, Harvey 1910 births 1973 deaths English solicitors Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath 20th-century English lawyers Treasury Solicitors Oxford University RFC players Scotland international rugby union players London Scottish F.C. players