Jean Nunn

Jean Josephine Nunn, CB, CBE (21 July 191624 November 1982) was a senior British civil servant. She served as Principal Private Secretary to James Chuter Ede and Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe, during their time as Home Secretary. She later served as Deputy Secretary of the Cabinet Office. She was the first woman to be admitted to the Order of the Bath.

Early life Nunn was born on 21 July 1916 in Abbotsham, Devon, to John Henry Nunn, and his wife, Doris Josephine Nunn (née Gregory). Her father, an officer in the Royal Field Artillery died during World War I. She was educated at St Leonard's School in Ealing, and at the Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army, a girls boarding school in Bath, Somerset. In 1961, she was promoted to Assistant Under-Secretary of State and appointed head of the Children's Department. In 1963, she moved to the Cabinet Office. In 1970, she became ill and had to take early retirement. Had she not been, she was heading ultimately towards the leadership of one of the departments.

Honours In the 1966 New Year Honours, she was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her services as Under-Secretary of the Cabinet Office. In the 1970 New Year Honours, she was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB), for her services as Deputy Secretary of the Cabinet Office. This made her the first woman to be appointed to the Order of the Bath.