Frank Newsam

Sir Frank Aubrey Newsam, GCB, KBE, CVO, MC (13 November 1893 – 25 April 1964) was a British civil servant notable for his service as Permanent Under-Secretary of State to the Home Office from 1948 to 1957, although he had been a central figure for many years previously. His strong leadership abilities had a dominating effect on the character of his department, in which he served for all but a few months of his career. His principal interest during this time was the Police service, for which he created the Police Staff College at Bramshill. At his best in a crisis, his contribution to the recovery after the North Sea flood of 1953 was particularly praised.

A man of great energy and drive, Newsam's tendency to be impatient with those who disagreed with him meant that he was not automatically popular with the Home Secretaries under whom he worked. However, his negotiating ability was superb, and he allowed himself time to enjoy the finer things in life. His eventual successor Philip Allen regarded him as operating in the tradition of preserving the liberty of the subject wherever possible; those who had worked under him also noted his highly prized commitment to keeping the politicians in charge of the department out of trouble at all costs.

Newsam was born in Barbados, where his father William Elias Newsam held a post in the British Colonial Civil Service. He went to school at Harrison College in Barbados, and then won an open scholarship in classics to St John's College, Oxford in 1911. Newsam graduated in 1915 with second classes in each of Mods and Greats, his failure to achieve a first being later ascribed to his desire to enjoy life while at university. Newsam (who had been a member of the Inns of Court Officer Training Corps) was then commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Irish Regiment. He saw active service in Ireland and was wounded during the Easter Rising in 1916; during the First World War he served in Belgium, France, the Punjab and Afghanistan. In September 1918, while a Lieutenant, he was awarded the Military Cross; the citation referred to him going "forward collecting all stragglers and reorganising the line when one of the companies commenced to retire", so restoring the offensive capability of his unit.

...
Wikipedia