Sir Kenneth Henry Clucas (18 November 1921 – 27 August 2010) was an English civil servant. After retiring in 1982, he served as chairman of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux.

Early life and education

He was born in

Faversham Faversham () is a market town in Kent, England, from Sittingbourne, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2 road (Great ...

, Kent, the son of Rev. John Henry Clucas, a Methodist minister, and his wife, Ethel Sim. He was educated at

Kingswood School Kingswood School is a private day and boarding school in Bath, Somerset, England. The school is coeducational and educates over 1,000 pupils aged 9 months to 18 years. It was founded by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, in 1748, and is the ...

in Bath, where he became head boy. His education was interrupted by the Second World War. Called up at age 19, he served as an officer in the

Royal Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

from 1941 to 1946. He was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

, which he insisted was not for any braveness against the enemy but for a "bold effort to sort out organisational weaknesses in the Signals Office." Following the war, he went to

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...

, to read English literature. However, his university life was cut short when he was successful in the Civil Service exam, which he sat for entry to the Administrative Class. The Civil Service Commission would not permit him to stay on at Cambridge, but fortunately for him, 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 ...

allowed him to remain at Cambridge long enough to sit a special exam and gain a first-class degree.

Career

After joining the Ministry of Labour in 1948, he was posted to the British Embassy in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

in 1950, serving as Assistant Labour Attaché before joining

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury or HMT), and informally referred to as the Treasury, is the Government of the United Kingdom’s economic and finance ministry. The Treasury is responsible for public spending, financial services policy, Tax ...

in 1952 as a principle. Over the next decade, he rose from to the rank of Deputy Secretary after outstanding performance in three high-profile posts. After serving as Principal Private Secretary to the Minister of Labour, from 1962 to 1966, he was head of the division responsible for legislation introducing widespread changes in industrial training. He then served as Secretary of the

National Board for Prices and Incomes The National Board for Prices and Incomes was created by the government of Harold Wilson in 1965 in an attempt to solve the problem of inflation in the British economy by managing wages and prices. The board's chairman was Aubrey Jones, formerly ...

(NBPI) from 1968 to 1970, an "extremely critical period" for the economic management. Clucas served as

First Civil Service Commissioner The First Civil Service Commissioner heads the Civil Service Commission, a statutory body which ensures that appointments to the Civil Service in the United Kingdom are made openly and on merit, and hears appeals from civil servants under the Civ ...

(1971–1974), followed by Permanent Secretary of the

Department of Prices and Consumer Protection The Department of Prices and Consumer Protection was a short-lived United Kingdom government department created by the incoming Labour government in 1974 when the functions of the Department of Trade and Industry were divided between three new ...

(1974–1979) and Permanent Secretary of the

Department of Trade and Industry Department of Trade and Industry may refer to: Current * Department of Trade and Industry (Isle of Man) * Department of Trade and Industry (Philippines) * Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (South Africa) Former * Department of Trade ...

(1979–1982). He retired from the Civil Service in 1982.

Honours

Clucas was 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

1969 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1969 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 ''Lon ...

. He was knighted in the same order in the

1976 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1976 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 on 1 January 1976 to celebra ...

Personal life

In 1960, Clucas married Barbara Hunter, eldest daughter of Rear-Admiral Raymond Paul Hunter of the U.S. Navy. They had two daughters: Jill Amanda (born 1967) and Susan Alison (born 1971). He died aged 88, after suffering from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clucas, Kenneth 1921 births 2010 deaths People educated at Kingswood School, Bath Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge English civil servants Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Deaths from Parkinson's disease in England People from Faversham British Army personnel of World War II Royal Corps of Signals officers Civil servants in the Ministry of Labour Civil servants in the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection Civil servants in the Department of Trade and Industry British Permanent Secretaries Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts