Osmund Somers Cleverly

Sir Osmond Cleverly CB CVO
Sir Osmund Somers Cleverly in 1951
Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
In office 1935–1939 Serving with Sir Harold Vincent during 1935–1936
Prime Minister	Stanley Baldwin Neville Chamberlain
Preceded by	Sir Harold Vincent
Succeeded by	Arthur Rucker
Personal details
Born	Osmond Somers Cleverly 1891 (1891) London
Died	21 October 1966(1966-10-21) (aged 74–75) Gomshall, Surrey
Nationality	British
Spouse	Priscilla Simpson ​ (m. 1920)​
Relations	Charles St George Cleverly
Children	3
Education	Rugby School
Alma mater	Magdalen College, Oxford
Occupation	Civil servant
Awards	CVO (1937) CB (1939) Knight Bachelor (1951)
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	British Army
Years of service	1914–1919
Rank	Captain
Unit	Queen's Regiment (TF)
Battles/wars	First World War

Sir Osmund Somers Cleverly CB CVO (1891[1] – 21 October 1966) was a British civil servant who, between 1935 and 1939, served as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister.[2][3]

Early life

Osmund Cleverly was born in 1891 at London to artist, Charles Frederick Moore Cleverly and Mary Isabel Cleverly.[4] His baptism is recorded as having taken place on 10 December 1891 in the parish of St. Mary the Virgin.[4] For his schooling he was educated at Rugby School and Magdalen College, Oxford. Following the outbreak of the First World War he saw active service in India and Mesopotamia between 1914 and 1919.[2][3]

Career

War Office

After the war he entered the British Civil Service, where he worked at the War Office between 1919 and 1935.[3]

Principal Private Secretary

In 1935 he was appointed Private Secretary and then Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister. In this capacity he served the British Prime Ministers Stanley Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain between 1935 and 1939.[2][3]

Ministry of Supply

He served as Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Supply in the early years of the Second World War between 1939 and 1941.[3]

Commissioner of Crown Lands

From 1941 to 1952 he was Commissioner of Crown Lands and was called out of retirement to fill the role between 1954 and 1955 after the Crichel Down Affair.[2][3]

Personal life

Cleverly married Priscilla Simpson, daughter of Prof. Frederick Moore Simpson FRIBA,[5] in 1920 with whom he had two sons and a daughter. He was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in the 1937 Coronation Honours,[6] Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the King's Birthday Honours 1939,[7] and Knighted in The King's Birthday Honours 1951.[8][3]

He died on 21 October 1966 with his funeral held at St. James's Church in Shere, Surrey.[2][9]

In fiction

Cleverly appears as Prime Minister Chamberlain's PPS throughout the 2017 novel Munich by Robert Harris.

References

1. "Sir Osmund Somers Cleverly - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
2. "Sir Osmund Cleverly". The Times. No. 56769. 22 October 1966. p. 10.
3. Streat, Raymond, Sir. (1987). Lancashire and Whitehall : the diary of Sir Raymond Streat. Dupree, Marguerite. Manchester [Greater Manchester]: Manchester University Press. ISBN 0719023904. OCLC 15550694.
4. London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: p81/mrv/002
5. Furlong, Gillian (4 June 2015). Treasures from UCL. University College, London. London. ISBN 9781910634363. OCLC 927026022.
6. "Page 3084 | Supplement 34396, 11 May 1937 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
7. "Page 3855 | Supplement 34633, 6 June 1939 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
8. "Page 3061 | Supplement 39243, 1 June 1951 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
9. "Court Circular". The Times. No. 56771. 25 October 1966. p. 14.

Government offices
Preceded by Sir Harold Vincent	Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister 1935–1939 alongside Sir Harold Vincent in 1935–1936	Succeeded by Arthur Rucker