Preface

Summary

I undertook to write this book at the invitation of the Governor; it was an invitation I was delighted to accept. The book follows on from the works of Clapham, Sayers, and Fforde in the series of commissioned histories of the Bank from its foundation in 1694 to the recent past. The terminal date is determined by the implicit 30-year rule the Bank operates on its archives, although I have been given access to papers beyond that date. The starting date has been left open – the 1950s. That is partly because although John Fforde had a finishing date in his title of 1958, he chose a sometimes narrow focus in his book, and some topics therefore merited further development. In any case, though, each historian will have a slightly different approach, and several subjects require an introduction that involves some historical background. To begin with 1959 might lead to speculation that it was the establishment of convertibility that determined the starting point or indeed some other striking event such as the fact that Che Guevara became Governor of the central bank of Cuba that year. I have had access to all the materials available and every assistance in talking to current and former personnel. And I have been given complete freedom in the writing of this history. The long list of acknowledgements that follows indicates the extent of support I have enjoyed.