Wilfrid Bourne

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Sir John Wilfrid Bourne KCB QC (27 January 1922 – 19 October 1999), known as Sir Wilfrid Bourne, was a British lawyer and civil servant who held the position of Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Office from 1977 to 1982.[1]

Family and education[]

Bourne was the second son of Robert Croft Bourne, MP for Oxford from 1924 to 1938, and Lady Hester Margaret Cairns, daughter of Wilfred Cairns, 4th Earl Cairns. Bourne's great-grandfather, the Conservative politician Hugh Cairns, had served as Lord Chancellor under Benjamin Disraeli.[1]

He was educated at Eton College, entering as a King's Scholar and Newcastle Scholar, and was Captain of the School in 1940. He obtained a scholarship to New College, Oxford, and took a First in Mods before joining the army.[1]

In 1958 Bourne married Elizabeth Juliet Fox, with whom he had two sons.

Career[]

During the Second World War, Bourne served with the Rifle Brigade in North Africa, Italy, Normandy and north-west Europe. He was demobilised in 1945 and returned to the University of Oxford to read Jurisprudence, in which he obtained another First, and was awarded the Eldon Law Scholarship.[2] He entered the Middle Temple and was called to the bar in 1948. He joined the chambers of Melford Stevenson (later a High Court judge) and served on the Oxford circuit.[1]

Bourne entered the British Civil Service in 1956, joining the Lord Chancellor's Department, and later became Principal Assistant Solicitor (1970-1972) and Deputy Secretary (1972-1977). He was also Private Secretary to David Maxwell Fyfe, and secretary to the Law Reform Committee.[1]

In 1977 Bourne was appointed Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Office and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery and held both positions until his retirement in 1982.

Honours[]

Bourne was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1975[3] and a Knight Commander (KCB) in 1979. He became a Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1981.

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e Obituary: Sir Wilfrid Bourne, The Independent. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  2. ^ Eldon Scholarship Award Holders since 1919, University of Oxford scholarships. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  3. ^ Supplement to the London Gazette (1 January 1975). Retrieved 6 January 2021.
Government offices
Preceded by Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Office
1977–1982 		Succeeded by
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