Founded 1980
Chair:        
Secretary: 
Treasurer: 

Graham Smith
Jan Thompson
Graham Mumby-Croft


Brendan O'Friel
John Childs – Prison and Borstal Governor (1933-2021)


John Childs joined the Prison Service in the middle of an ongoing crisis as the Service faced extraordinary and overwhelming pressures.

First was the unpreceded rise in the number of prisoners from 1945 – an ever increasing avalanche which all but overwhelmed the system. Second was the failure to grapple with deep rooted staffing problems that led to staff disillusionment and then to widespread industrial action.

Throughout these years, several major reports into disasters were published – which laid out the problems and suggested possible solutions but were rarely followed up adequately by Government. From the Mountbatten Report into the escape of the spy George Blake over the walls of Wormwood Scrubs in 1966, to the May Inquiry into the Industrial Relations crisis of 1978, the Service faced what felt like a never ending series of very difficult is not insolvable problems.

This was the somber background against which Childs developed his career.

A man of high principles, shaped by his deep-rooted Catholic faith, Childs brought both sensitivity and deep interest to all that he was involved with. He is particularly remembered as a very kind man, with a good sense of humour.

His early involvement in and commitment to charity work in addition to his career was to continue throughout his life. This was a clear demonstration of his core determination and interest in putting theory into practice.

He quickly acquired a clear grasp of the realities of prisoners’ life experiences and the factors that contributed to their offending behaviour. He was heavily committed to doing the very best he could for those in his care. He was at his best with staff in a mentoring role with a rare ability to listen carefully to what he was told and then to help an individual understand the options for change and improvement.

From his formative experiences at Dover Borstal, he had a particular interest in young offenders – an interest that led to his eventual appointment as Governor of Portland Borstal which accommodated over 500 offenders, the largest young offender’s establishment in the Service at the time he was in charge.

John Childs was born in Dundee Scotland on 19th March 1933. An only child, he attended Lawside Academy before gained a place at St Andrews University to study Dentistry. Realising that dentistry was not for him, after two years National Service in the Royal Signals, he joined the Post Office in London as a Telecommunications Superintendent.

His interest in the Prison Service derived from his involvement in voluntary work at Norman House which provided a service to discharged prisoners. The Warden drew Child’s attention to the advertisement for Assistant Governors in the Prison Service - and advised him to apply.

He was successful in the open competition and joined at the Wakefield Prison Service Staff College in September 1960 for the six month initial training course provided for Assistant Governors.

In March 1961 he was posted to Dover Borstal as an Assistant Governor Class Two. He was to spend a relatively long period at Dover, involved in a major research project, master minded by the Governor David Gould.

In September 1961, he married Jean at the Catholic Church of St Edward the Confessor in Hendon.

He was promoted to Assistant Governor Class One in 1967 and was posted to the Prison Service College as a member of the teaching staff. He was further promoted to Governor Class Three in 1970 continuing at the College.

In 1972, he was transferred to Leeds Prison as Deputy Governor, a post he held for four difficult years in the midst of acute service wide industrial relations problems. Leeds was also a severely overcrowded local prison – with very poor conditions for both prisoners and staff - a very different experience from his previous responsibilities.

In September 1976 he was promoted to Governor Class Two and given his first command at Portland Borstal in Dorset, built as a convict prison.
In 1980 he was transferred to take charge of Bristol Prison, a post he held for three years. In 1983, he transferred to Prison Service HQ – P7 Division, which was responsible for staffing matters including staff training. Childs was appointed Head of Training and Development.

He retired from the Service in 1986. After retirement he established TCS Management Consultancy which undertook work for both Government Departments and commercial organisations.

He died on December 22nd 2021 aged 88. He leaves his widow Jean and three children. Both his sons served in the Royal Hong Kong Police while his daughter developed a nursing career in the NHS.

BRENDAN O’FRIEL