Denis Dobson
Encyclopedia
Sir Denis William Dobson QC
KCB
OBE (17 October 1908 — 15 December 1995) was a British solicitor
, barrister
and civil servant who served as Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Department
and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery
from 5 April 1968 to 15 April 1977.
in 1922, matriculating to Trinity College, Cambridge
in 1926. He graduated in 1930 with a first class degree in law, and was added to the rolls as a solicitor in 1933. Moving to London he spent a year in a City firm before, disenchanted, joining a company of parliamentary draftsmen. During the Second World War, Dobson served with the Royal Air Force
, and was appointed an OBE in 1945.
Suffering from tuberculosis he was unable to join the legal branch of the Foreign Office, and he instead joined the Statutory Publications Office, part of HM Treasury
. There the Treasury Solicitor, Sir Thomas Barnes, introduced him to Albert Napier
, the Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Office
, who offered him a job. Accepting, he transferred to the Lord Chancellor's Department
in April 1947, and was soon recognised as a potential future Permanent Secretary. With this in mind he qualified as a barrister, and was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple
in 1951. After Napier retired, Dobson became the assistant to the new Permanent Secretary, George Coldstream
, and when Coldstream retired in 1968 Dobson was made Permanent Secretary and knighted.
Dobson was made a KCB
in 1969, and a Queen's Counsel
in 1971. Initially a reformer, by the time he became Permanent Secretary Dobson had become more conservative in his outlook, and is believed to have prevented several Lord Chancellor
s from making reforming actions. This was a particularly bad time for a conservative Permanent Secretary, since the report of the Beeching Commission and the transformation of the small Lord Chancellor's Department into a fully fledged government office needed a more radical Permanent Secretary. Dobson retired in 1977, sitting as a member of the Advisory Council on Public Records until 1983, and died on 15 December 1995.
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
OBE (17 October 1908 — 15 December 1995) was a British solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
, barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
and civil servant who served as Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Department
Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Office
The Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Department was the most senior civil servant in the Lord Chancellor's Department and a senior member of Her Majesty's Civil Service...
and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery
Clerk of the Crown in Chancery
In the Government of the United Kingdom, the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery is a senior civil servant who is the head of the Crown Office. The Crown Office, a section of the Ministry of Justice, has custody of the Great Seal of the Realm, and has certain administrative functions in connection with...
from 5 April 1968 to 15 April 1977.
Life
Dobson was born on 17 October 1908 to William Dobson, a shipbuilder, and his wife Laura. He was admitted to Charterhouse SchoolCharterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...
in 1922, matriculating to Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
in 1926. He graduated in 1930 with a first class degree in law, and was added to the rolls as a solicitor in 1933. Moving to London he spent a year in a City firm before, disenchanted, joining a company of parliamentary draftsmen. During the Second World War, Dobson served with the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, and was appointed an OBE in 1945.
Suffering from tuberculosis he was unable to join the legal branch of the Foreign Office, and he instead joined the Statutory Publications Office, part of HM Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
. There the Treasury Solicitor, Sir Thomas Barnes, introduced him to Albert Napier
Albert Napier
Sir Albert Edward Alexander Napier KCB KCVO QC was a British civil servant who served as Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Department between 1944 and 1954...
, the Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Office
Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Office
The Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Department was the most senior civil servant in the Lord Chancellor's Department and a senior member of Her Majesty's Civil Service...
, who offered him a job. Accepting, he transferred to the Lord Chancellor's Department
Lord Chancellor's Department
The Lord Chancellor's Department was a United Kingdom government department answerable to the Lord Chancellor with jurisdiction over England and Wales....
in April 1947, and was soon recognised as a potential future Permanent Secretary. With this in mind he qualified as a barrister, and was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
in 1951. After Napier retired, Dobson became the assistant to the new Permanent Secretary, George Coldstream
George Coldstream
Sir George Phillips Coldstream was a British barrister and civil servant who served as Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Department and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery from 4 June 1954 to 5 April 1968. Born to an upper-middle-class family, Coldstream was educated at Rugby School and...
, and when Coldstream retired in 1968 Dobson was made Permanent Secretary and knighted.
Dobson was made a KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
in 1969, and a Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
in 1971. Initially a reformer, by the time he became Permanent Secretary Dobson had become more conservative in his outlook, and is believed to have prevented several Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
s from making reforming actions. This was a particularly bad time for a conservative Permanent Secretary, since the report of the Beeching Commission and the transformation of the small Lord Chancellor's Department into a fully fledged government office needed a more radical Permanent Secretary. Dobson retired in 1977, sitting as a member of the Advisory Council on Public Records until 1983, and died on 15 December 1995.