Henry Forbes Summers (18 August 1911 in Harrogate, Yorkshire – 22 December 2005 in Basingstoke, Hampshire), aka Hal Summers, was a senior British civil servant. He published several volumes of poetry. Summers was educated at Fettes College, Edinburgh and Trinity College, Oxford. He joined the Ministry of Health in 1935. He was Private Secretary to Aneurin Bevan while he was Minister of Health, during the passage of the National Health Bill, 1945. He moved to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government on its creation and was promoted to Under-Secretary in 1955. This ministry was later absorbed into the Department of the Environment. He was made a CB in 1961 and retired in 1971. Publications Smoke After Flame, 1944 Hinterland, 1947 Poems in Pamphlet IV: Visions of Time, 1952 Tomorrow is my Love, 1978 The Burning Book, 1982 Brevities, 1991 His most popular poems include "My Old Cat" (voted one of Britain's favourite 20th-century poems in a BBC poll), "The Beginners" and "The Seed". References Who was Who External links Private secretaries in the British Civil Service Civil servants in the Ministry of Health (United Kingdom) Civil servants in the Ministry of Housing and Local Government Civil servants in the Department of the Environment Companions of the Order of the Bath 1911 births 2005 deaths People educated at Fettes College Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford English male poets 20th-century English poets 20th-century English male writers