Sir John Keyworth Boynton MC DL (14 February 1918 – 15 January 2007) was a British legal officer. After a career as 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 ...

and

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

, he was appointed as the commissioner responsible for overseeing the 1980 elections in

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

, later

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

, and then led an inquiry into the alleged abuse of patients at the Rampton special psychiatric hospital in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

Life and career

John Boynton was born in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

and attended

Glasgow Academy The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational private day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2016, it had the third-best Higher level exam results in Scotland. Founded in 1845, it is the oldest continuously fully private school in ...

and

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

, before taking a degree in law at

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 ...

and qualifying as a solicitor in 1939. Society of Local Authority Chief Executives, ''Sir John Boynton MC 1918 – 2007'', February 2007
Retrieved 19 January 2013 RTPI News, ''Obituary - Sir John Boynton, 1918-2007'', 30 March 2007
Retrieved 19 January 2013 In 1940 he joined the 15th Scottish Reconnaissance Regiment, and served in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. In February 1945 he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

for his actions in leading a tank column under enemy fire to reconnoitre and recapture the town of

Kleve Kleve (; traditional ; ; ; ; ; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Netherlands, Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century onwards, Cleves was capital of a county and lat ...

. The Telegraph, ''Obituary, Sir John Boynton'', 14 February 2007
Retrieved 19 January 2013 He served as a military magistrate in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

after the end of the war, before returning to England where he worked as a solicitor for

Derbyshire County Council Derbyshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Derby. The county council is ba ...

and then as deputy clerk of the peace in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. In 1964 he moved to

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, where he became clerk of the council and, after local government reorganisation in 1974, the first chief executive of the newly constituted

Cheshire County Council Cheshire County Council was the county council of Cheshire. Founded on 1 April 1889, it was officially dissolved on 31 March 2009, when it and its districts were superseded by two unitary authorities: Cheshire West and Chester and Cheshire East. ...

, a post he held until 1979. He was instrumental in establishing the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE), and became its founding president in 1974. He was also elected president of the

Royal Town Planning Institute The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is the professional body representing planners in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It promotes and develops policy affecting planning and the built environment. Founded in 1914, the institute was granted ...

in 1976, and was a member of the Economic Planning Council for

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of 7,4 ...

. Upon his retirement from local government, he was appointed by the British

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

to oversee new national elections in Rhodesia following the

Lancaster House Agreement The Lancaster House Agreement is an agreement signed on 21 December 1979 in Lancaster House, following the conclusion of a constitutional conference where different parties discussed the future of Zimbabwe Rhodesia, formerly known as Rhodesia ...

. For the first time, these elections were to involve the rival guerrilla organisations led by

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of th ...

and

Joshua Nkomo Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo (19 June 1917 – 1 July 1999) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 1990 until his death in 1999. He founded and led the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) ...

. Despite evidence of intimidation of voters and candidates, he concluded that the elections - which resulted in Mugabe's ZANU-PF party securing a majority of seats - had been "a reflection of the wishes of the people". The country was renamed Zimbabwe a few months later. Later in 1980, he was asked to lead an inquiry into the alleged abuse of patients at Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire, following revelations in a

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

documentary. Boynton's inquiry found problems relating to the hospital's isolation, lack of leadership, and focus on containment rather than therapy. The report led to the formation of the

Mental Health Act Commission The Mental Health Act Commission was an NHS special health authority that provided a safeguard for people detained in hospital under the powers of the Mental Health Act 1983 in England and Wales. Mental health care is the only part of health care ...

, to oversee conditions under which mental patients are detained. He co-wrote ''Boynton's Guide to Compulsory Purchase and Compensation'' (1964), and published a memoir, ''Job at the Top'' (1986). He was appointed a deputy lieutenant of

in 1975, and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1979. Sir John Boynton was married twice, and had two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boynton, John Keyworth 1918 births 2007 deaths People from Carlisle, Cumbria Knights Bachelor Lawyers awarded knighthoods Local government officers in England Presidents of the Royal Town Planning Institute Deputy lieutenants of Cheshire Recipients of the Military Cross Military personnel from Carlisle, Cumbria British Army personnel of World War II Reconnaissance Corps officers