Sir David Stephens 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...

 CVO

Royal Victorian Order

The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...

 (25 April 1910 – 3 April 1990) was a British public servant and Clerk of the Parliaments

Clerk of the Parliaments

The Clerk of the Parliaments is the chief clerk of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The position has existed since at least 1315, and duties include preparing the minutes of Lords proceedings, advising on proper parliamentary procedure and pronouncing the Royal Assent...

 from 1963 to 1974.
He was educated at Winchester College

Winchester College

Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...

, Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...

 and The Queen's College, Oxford

The Queen's College, Oxford

The Queen's College, founded 1341, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Queen's is centrally situated on the High Street, and is renowned for its 18th-century architecture...

.

He became a Clerk in the House of Lords in 1935, but left in 1938 to become a member of the Runciman Commission to Czechoslovakia. In the same year he transferred to HM Treasury. From 1947 to 1949 he was Principal Private Secretary to Herbert Morrison

Herbert Morrison

Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, CH, PC was a British Labour politician; he held a various number of senior positions in the Cabinet, including Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister.-Early life:Morrison was the son of a police constable and was born in...

 as Lord President of the Council

Lord President of the Council

The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President usually attends each meeting of the Privy Council, presenting business for the monarch's approval...

. From 1955 to 1961 he was Secretary for Appointments to the Prime Minister, serving first Sir Anthony Eden

Anthony Eden

Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...

 and then Harold Macmillan

Harold Macmillan

Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....

. In 1960 he was made CVO

Royal Victorian Order

The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...

.

In 1961 he returned to the House of Lords as Reading Clerk. He was appointed Clerk of the Parliaments in 1963, and made 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 1964.

After his retirement in 1974 he served from 1976 to 1981 as Chairman of the Redundant Churches Fund (now the Churches Conservation Trust

Churches Conservation Trust

The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...

).

Personal Life

In 1941 David Stephens married Clemency Gore Browne. They had three sons and a daughter. His youngest son, Christopher Stephens, was appointed Chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission

Judicial Appointments Commission

The Judicial Appointments Commission is responsible for selecting judges in England and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body which was created on 3 April 2006 as part of the reforms following the Constitutional Reform Act 2005...

 in 2011. His daughter Caroline married Richard Ryder

Richard Ryder, Baron Ryder of Wensum

Richard Andrew Ryder, Baron Ryder of Wensum, OBE, PC , is a British Conservative Party politician. A former Member of Parliament and government minister, he was made a Life Peer in 1997 and is now a member of the House of Lords. He is a nephew of the late Sue Ryder, the Baroness Ryder of Warsaw,...

, later Lord Ryder of Wensum, in 1981.
After the death of his first wife in 1966, Sir David Stephens married Charlotte Manisty in 1967.