Arthur Rucker (civil servant)

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Arthur Rucker

| death_place =

| alma_mater = Trinity College, Cambridge

| education = Marlborough College

| children = 4

| spouse = {{marriage|Elsie Marion Broadbent|1922|June 1991}}

| relations = Sir Arthur Rucker FRS (father)

| notable_works =

| known_for =

| years_active =

| occupation =

| other_names =

| nationality =

| death_date = {{death date and age|1991|07|12|1895|06|20|df=y}}

| honorific-prefix = Sir

| birth_place =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1895|06|20|df=yes}}

| birth_name = Arthur Nevil Rucker

| successor = Eric Seal

| predecessor = Osmund Somers Cleverly

| primeminister = Neville Chamberlain

| term_end = 1940

| term_start = 1939

| office = Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister

| caption = Sir Arthur Nevil Rucker in 1944

| image = File:Sir_Arthur_Nevil_Rucker.jpg

| honorific-suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|KCMG|CB|CBE|size=100%}}

| awards = CBE (1937)
CB (1941)
KCMG (1942)

| allegiance = United Kingdom

| branch = British Army

| serviceyears = 1914–1918

| rank = Second lieutenant

| servicenumber =

| unit = 12th battalion, Suffolk Regiment

| commands =

| battles = First World War

| mawards =

}}

Arthur Nevil Rucker, {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|KCMG|CB|CBE|size=100%}} (20 June 1895 – 12 July 1991), was a former British civil servant who served as Neville Chamberlain's Principal Private Secretary (PPS) from the period 1939 to 1940.{{Cite news|date=17 July 1991|title=Sir Arthur Rucker|pages=18|work=The Times|url=https://www.thetimes.com/|access-date=17 February 2022}}

Early life

Arthur Nevil Rucker was born on 20 June 1895. The son of Sir Arthur Rucker FRS, a leading physicist and Principal of London University, he was always referred to as Nevil by his family to avoid confusion. After studying at Marlborough College he matriculated to Trinity College, Cambridge, where his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War. Subsequently commissioned into the 12th battalion of the Suffolk Regiment, he gained the rank of second lieutenant during his time in service.{{Cite web|title=Page 12201 {{!}} Issue 29393, 7 December 1915 {{!}} London Gazette {{!}} The Gazette|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29393/page/12201|access-date=2022-02-17|website=www.thegazette.co.uk}} In 1915 he was posted to France where he was injured in battle. After the war he returned to Cambridge to complete his degree and joined the civil service in 1920.

Career

Sir Arthur Rucker's career began at the Ministry of Health in 1920 as an assistant principal.{{Cite news|date=20 July 1991|title=Sir Arthur Rucker|pages=15|work=The Daily Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk|access-date=17 February 2022}} He rose to become Neville Chamberlain's Principal Private Secretary at the outbreak of the Second World War (1939–1940). After a period working for Nye Bevin, in 1948, he left the both civil service and Britain to take up the post of deputy director-general of the International Refugee Organisation in Geneva.

Rucker was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1937 New Year Honours list,{{Cite web|title=Page 695 {{!}} Supplement 34365, 29 January 1937 {{!}} London Gazette {{!}} The Gazette|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34365/supplement/695|access-date=2022-02-17|website=www.thegazette.co.uk}} Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 1941 New Year Honours list and knighted (KCMG) in The King's Birthday Honours of 1942.{{Cite web|title=Page 695 {{!}} Supplement 34365, 29 January 1937 {{!}} London Gazette {{!}} The Gazette|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34365/supplement/695|access-date=2022-02-17|website=www.thegazette.co.uk}}

Personal life

In 1922 Sir Arthur married Elsie Marion Broadbent and they remained wedded until she died just one month before him. The union produced two sons and two daughters.