James Grigg

Sir Percy James Grigg, KCB, KCSI, PC (16 December 1890 – 5 May 1964), better known as Sir James Grigg, was a British civil servant who was unexpectedly moved, at the behest of then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill, from being the Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the War Office to become Secretary of State for War, the political head of the same department during the Second World War.

The Right Honourable Sir James Grigg KCB KCSI
Secretary of State for War
In office 22 February 1942 – 26 July 1945
Monarch	George VI
Prime Minister	Winston Churchill
Preceded by	David Margesson
Succeeded by	Jack Lawson
Personal details
Born	16 December 1890 Exmouth, Devon
Died	5 May 1964 (aged 73)
Nationality	British
Alma mater	St John's College, Cambridge

Background and education

The son of Frank Alfred Grigg, a carpenter, James Grigg was born in Exmouth and won a scholarship to Bournemouth School and St John's College, Cambridge[1] where he studied mathematics, achieving first-class honours in both parts of his tripos.

Career in civil service

Grigg came first in the civil service examination in 1913, and commenced work at the Treasury. During the First World War he served in the Royal Garrison Artillery. After the war he returned to the Treasury, becoming Principal Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1921. He held this post until 1930, serving several successive Chancellors including Winston Churchill. Grigg then became Chairman of the Board of Customs and Excise and Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue. In 1934, he was transferred to New Delhi, India where he became Finance Member of the Government of India in anticipation of limited self-rule that began in 1935. He remained in New Delhi until 1939, and afterward continued to influence British imperial policies on India, especially after his patron Winston Churchill became Prime Minister. Grigg became Permanent Under-Secretary of State for War in 1939; he oversaw a turbulent department, which in 1940 witnessed no fewer than four different Secretaries of State (Leslie Hore-Belisha, Oliver Stanley, Anthony Eden and David Margesson).

Secretary of State for War

Grigg proved an effective departmental head, but it came as a great shock to many when in February 1942 Churchill dismissed Margesson and replaced him with Grigg – who had to convey the news to Margesson himself. Amongst the many Ministerial appointments made by Churchill from outside the sphere of Westminster politics, this was seen as one of the most unusual, but was a response to considerable military setbacks such as the loss of Singapore, and the need to appease critics by replacing some ministers. Grigg retained his post for the rest of the war, holding it also in Churchill's 1945 "Caretaker Government". In 1942 he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiff East, beating Fenner Brockway. However, in the 1945 general election he lost his seat and left public life.

Later life

In his later years Grigg held many directorships, including those of the Imperial Tobacco Company, the Prudential Assurance Company, the National Provincial Bank and the Distillers Company. In 1946, he became the first British executive director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He died on 5 May 1964, aged 73.

Family

He married Gertrude Charlotte Hough, daughter of the Reverend George Frederick Hough, in July 1919. The marriage was childless.

Memoir

• Grigg, James. Prejudice and Judgment. Jonathan Cape, 1948.

References

1. Sir Raymond Streat (1987). Lancashire and Whitehall: The Diary of Sir Raymond Streat. Manchester University Press. p. 307. ISBN 978-0-7190-2390-3. Retrieved 6 November 2015.

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by P. J. Grigg
• Newspaper clippings about James Grigg in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW