The Papers of Sir William Gorell Barnes

Born: 1909

Educated: Marlborough College, Pembroke College, Cambridge

Married:1935 Barbara Cottrell, with whom he had three daughters and one son.

Died:1987

Career:

1932-39: Diplomatic Service -Foreign Office Baghdad, Lisbon

1939-45: Offices of War Cabinet

1942-45: Personal Assistant to Lord President of the Council (Clement Attlee)

1945-46: Assistant Secretary HM Treasury

Oct 1946-Feb 1948: Personal Assistant to Prime Minister, Clement Attlee

1948-59: Assistant Under Secretary of State Colonial Office

1959-63: Deputy Under Secretary Colonial Office

1962: Member UK delegation to EEC negotiations

1963: Retired from Civil Service

1963-66: Vice-Chairman and Financial Director Harveys of Bristol

1963-80: Director Royal Group of Insurance Companies (Deputy Chairman 1972-80)

1967-69: Chairman Jones Templeton & Co

1966-80: Director Doulton & Co (Deputy Chairman 1969-80)

1966-71: Director Limmer Holdings Ltd (Chairman 1971)

1971-83: Director Tarmac PLC

1983-84: Director Tarmac Roadstone Holdings Ltd

1972-84: Director Donald Macpherson Group

1974-75: Chairman Conservative Commonwealth and Overseas Council

1970-77: Member of Council of Westfield College, London

1978: Honorary Fellow of Westfield College, London

Publications: "Europe and the Developing World"

Honours: CMG (1949), CB (1956) and KCMG (1961).

The papers cover a number of important aspects of Barnes' work as Personal Assistant to Clement Attlee, while Lord President of the Council during World War II and Prime Minister after the War, and his concern with Colonial and Common Market affairs both in his official capacity as Assistant (later Deputy) Under-Secretary of State at the Colonial Office and later through the Conservative Commonwealth and Overseas Council.

This collection of papers of Sir William Gorell Barnes was deposited at Churchill Archives Centre by his widow in 1988.

The papers were generally in good order and condition when deposited at Churchill Archives Centre.

The collection is open for consultation by researchers using Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge. Churchill Archives Centre is open from Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm. A prior appointment and two forms of identification are required.

Researchers wishing to publish excerpts from the papers must obtain prior permission from the copyright holder and should seek advice about contacting her from Archives Centre staff.

Please cite as Churchill Archives Centre, The Papers of Sir William Gorell Barnes, BARN

Churchill Archives Centre also holds a small collection of the papers of Clement Attlee (GBR/014/ATLE) and the papers of Lawrence Burgis, secretary to the War Cabinet (GBR/014/BRGS).

The collection has been catalogued. Hard copies of the paper catalogue are available in the reading room at Churchill Archives Centre and at the National Register of Archives in London. This finding aid is also available on the Janus website http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk.

This collection and series description was prepared by Natalie Adams of Churchill Archives Centre in October 2004 using information from the typed catalogue. The remainder of the catalogue was converted by Caroline Herbert in 2008.