John Boynton was born in
Carlisle and attended
Glasgow Academy and
Dulwich College, before taking a degree in law at
London University and qualifying as a solicitor in 1939. In 1940 he joined the 15th Scottish Reconnaissance Regiment, and served in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. In February 1945 he was awarded the
Military Cross for his actions in leading a tank column under enemy fire to reconnoitre and recapture the town of
Kleve. He served as a military magistrate in
Germany after the end of the war, before returning to England where he worked as a solicitor for
Derbyshire County Council and then as deputy
clerk of the peace in
Berkshire. In 1964 he moved to
Cheshire, where he became clerk of the council and, after local government reorganisation in 1974, the first chief executive of the newly constituted
Cheshire County Council, a post he held until 1979. He was instrumental in establishing the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE), and became its founding president in 1974. He was also elected president of the
Royal Town Planning Institute in 1976, and was a member of the
Economic Planning Council for
North West England. Upon his retirement from local government, he was appointed by the British
Foreign and Commonwealth Office to oversee new national elections in Rhodesia following the
Lancaster House Agreement. For the first time, these elections were to involve the rival guerrilla organisations led by
Robert Mugabe and
Joshua Nkomo. Despite evidence of intimidation of voters and candidates, he concluded that the elections - which resulted in Mugabe's
ZANU-PF party securing a majority of seats - had been "a reflection of the wishes of the people". The country was renamed Zimbabwe a few months later. Later in 1980, he was asked to lead an inquiry into the alleged abuse of patients at
Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire, following revelations in a
Yorkshire Television documentary. Boynton's inquiry found problems relating to the hospital's isolation, lack of leadership, and focus on containment rather than therapy. The report led to the formation of the
Mental Health Act Commission, to oversee conditions under which mental patients are detained. He co-wrote ''Boynton's Guide to Compulsory Purchase and Compensation
(1964), and published a memoir, Job at the Top'' (1986). He was appointed a
deputy lieutenant of
Cheshire in 1975, and was
knighted in 1979. Sir John Boynton was married twice, and had two daughters. ==References==