John Standish Fforde (16 November 1921 – 10 April 2000) was a British economist who was active in the Bank of England between 1957 and 1984.[1] As Chief Cashier between 1966 and 1970, his signature appeared on British Bank Notes. After retirement he became the Bank of England's official Historian, and wrote The Bank of England And Public Policy, which covered the years 1941 to 1958.

John Fforde
John Standish Fforde, C.1972
John Standish Fforde, C.1972
Born(1921-11-16)16 November 1921
Dorset, United Kingdom
Died10 April 2000(2000-04-10) (aged 78)
Hereford, United Kingdom
OccupationEconomist

Early life and education

edit

Fforde was born at Broadstone, Dorset, fourth of five children of farmer and civil engineer Francis Creswell Fforde (1873-1949), of Lurgan, County Armagh, Ireland, and his first wife, Agnes Cecily. He was educated at Rossall School before going up to Christ Church, Oxford. He took first-class honours in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1949, subsequently taking the promotion to MA having spent the requisite time as a member of the university.[2][3]

Career

edit

Posts held

edit
  • Prime Minister's Statistical Branch 1951–1953
  • Fellow, Nuffield College, Oxford 1953–1956
  • Staff, Bank of England 1957–1984
  • Deputy Chief, Central Banking Information Department 1959–1964
  • Adviser to the Governors 1964–1966, 1982–1984
  • Chief Cashier 1966–1970
  • Executive Director (Home Finance) 1970–1982
  • Official historian to the Bank of England, 1984–1992

Publications

edit
  • The Federal Reserve System, 1945–49 (1953)

Fforde's work Bank of England's History: The Bank of England And Public Policy (1941–1958) was published in 1992.[1]

Personal life

edit

In 1951 John Fforde married Marya Retinger, the daughter of Austro-Hungarian (later, Polish) political adviser Joseph Retinger, and a granddaughter of journalist E. D. Morel. They have three sons and one daughter,[1] including novelist Jasper Fforde.[4]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c Coleby, Tony (10 May 2000). "John Fforde obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  2. ^ Journal of the Institute of Bankers, vols 88 and 89, 1967, p. 77
  3. ^ https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-74016?rskey=nKZzkh&result=1
  4. ^ Corbett, Sue (11 October 2012). "Q & A with Jasper Fforde". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.