Jean Josephine Nunn, CB, CBE (21 July 191624 November 1982) 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 ...

. She served as Principal Private Secretary to James Chuter Ede and Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe, during their time as

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

. She later served as Deputy Secretary of the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

. She was the first woman to be admitted to 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 ...

Early life

Nunn was born on 21 July 1916 in Abbotsham, Devon, to John Henry Nunn, and his wife, Doris Josephine Nunn (née Gregory). Her father, an officer in the Royal Field Artillery died during

World War I 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 ...

. She was educated at St Leonard's School in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

, and at the Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army, a girls

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

. In 1934, she matriculated into Girton College,

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. She studied the History

Tripos TRIPOS (''TRIvial Portable Operating System'') is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of Cambridge University and it was headed by Dr. Martin Richards. The first version appeared in January 1978 a ...

for both Part I and Part II. She graduated in 1937

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA), which was later promoted to

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA).

Career

In 1938, Nunn joined the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

, having passed the examination for the administrative grade of

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 1941, she was appointed private secretary to Sir Alexander Maxwell, the Permanent Under-Secretary of State of the Home Office. From 1947 to 1949, she served as Secretary to the Royal Commission on the Press. From 1949 to 1951, she served as Principal Private Secretary to James Chuter Ede, the then

. She was the first woman to hold this appointment. When Sir David Maxwell Fyfe became Home Secretary, she remained on as his Principal Private Secretary. In 1961, she was promoted to Assistant Under-Secretary of State and appointed head of the Children's Department. In 1963, she moved to the

. In 1963, she was promoted to Deputy Secretary of the Cabinet Office. She was the first woman to be appointed to that rank. In 1970, she became ill and had to take early retirement. Had she not been, she was heading ultimately towards the leadership of one of the departments.

Later life

Having retired in 1970, she spent the next few years being cared for by a friend. The illness that ended her Civil Service career was cerebral arteriosclerosis. On 24 November 1982, after years of declining health, she died in Oakhill House Nursing Home,

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

, Sussex. A memorial service was held for her at

St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret the Virgin, Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Pal ...

, on 18 January 1983. Attendees included senior civil servants and politicians.

Honours

In the 1966

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

, she was appointed

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 ...

(CBE) for her services as Under-Secretary of the Cabinet Office. In the 1970 New Year Honours, she was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB), for her services as Deputy Secretary of the Cabinet Office. This made her the first woman to be appointed to the Order of the Bath.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nunn, Jean 1916 births 1982 deaths British civil servants Companions of the Order of the Bath People educated at the Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Commanders of the Order of the British Empire