William Armstrong, Baron Armstrong of Sanderstead

William Armstrong, Baron Armstrong of Sanderstead GCB, MVO, PC (3 March 1915 – 12 July 1980) was a British civil servant and banker.

The son of William Armstrong and Priscilla Hopkins, he was born in Clapton in London. Armstrong was educated at Bec School in Tootingat and Exeter College, Oxford. From 1938 to 1943, Armstrong worked for the Board of Education and from 1943 to 1945 he was private secretary to the Secretary of the War Cabinet Sir Edward Bridges. Between 1949 and 1953, he was principal private secretary to the three successive Chancellors of the Exchequer Sir R. Stafford Cripps, Hugh Gaitskell and then R. A. Butler.

Armstrong was Under-Secretary to the Overseas Finance Division of the Treasury from 1953 to 1957, and from 1957 to 1958 of the Home Finance Civision. Between 1958 and 1962, he was Third Secretary and Treasury Officer of Account. In 1962, he became Permanent Secretary of the Treasury and in 1968, Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service, where he was noted for his influential in the administration of Edward Heath, especially at the point of its dispute with the miners and the government's imposition of a 3-day week.At that point, a cabinet minister referred to him a the "deputy Prime Minister". he ramined a friend of Ted Heath, shared his musical interests and helped him with his memoirs. In 1973, he was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council.

After retiring from the Civil Service, the then Sir William Armstrong was appointed Chairman of the Midland Bank.

In 1945, Armstrong was made a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO). He also was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1957, a Knight Commander (KCB) in 1963 and eventually a Knight Grand Cross (GCB). On 29 January 1975, he was created a life peer with the title Baron Armstrong of Sanderstead, of the City of Westminster. Armstrong died in Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford.

In 1942, he married Gwendoline Enid Bennett, daughter of John Bennett.

References

*cite web | url= http://thepeerage.com/p12489.htm#i124882| title= thePeerage| accessdate= 2007-04-13
* [http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article299884.ece obituary of Sir Edward Heath, "The Independent", 18 July 2005]