The Lord Norman | |
|---|---|
 Norman on the cover ofTime, 1929 | |
| Governor of the Bank of England | |
| In office 1920–1944 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Brien Cokayne |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Catto |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 1944 – 4 February 1950 Hereditary Peerage | |
| Preceded by | Peerage created |
| Succeeded by | None |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Montagu Collet Norman (1871-09-06)6 September 1871 Kensington,London, England |
| Died | 4 February 1950(1950-02-04) (aged 78) Campden Hill,London, England |
| Spouse | |
| Profession | Banker |
Montagu Collet Norman, 1st Baron NormanDSOPC (6 September 1871 – 4 February 1950) was an Englishbanker, best known for his role as theGovernor of the Bank of England from 1920 to 1944.
Norman led the bank during the toughest period in modern British economic history and was noted for his somewhat raffish character and arty appearance. A very influential figure, Norman, according toThe Wall Street Journal, was referred to as "the currency dictator of Europe", a fact which he himself admitted to, before the Court of the Bank on 21 March 1930.[1] The economist and Court memberJohn Maynard Keynes said of him: "Montagu Norman, always absolutely charming, always absolutely wrong".[2]
In recent years, Norman's reputation has suffered after the confirmation that he knowingly aided in the transfer of Czech gold to theNazi regime in March 1939, and again supported transfers of Czech gold to Hitler's Germany two months after WWII broke out. On this second occasion, the UK government intervened to block Norman's initiative.[3]
Norman was the elder son ofFrederick Norman and Lina Susan Penelope Collet, a daughter ofSir Mark Wilks Collet, 1st Baronet, himself aBank of England Governor. TheNorman family was well known in banking. Montagu's brotherRonald Collet Norman and his nephewMark Norman became leading bankers. Montagu's great-nephew David Norman has also led a successfulCity career and is a noted benefactor of the arts. Montagu Norman was educated atEton and spent one year atKing's College, Cambridge.[4] He also joined the 4th Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire militia in 1894 and served in theSecond Boer War. He was awarded theDistinguished Service Order in 1901.[5]
After spending time in Europe, he joinedMartins Bank in 1892; his father was a partner. In 1894 he joinedBrown, Shipley & Co., where his maternal grandfather was a partner and, in 1895,Brown Bros. & Co. of New York. He became a partner at Brown Shipley in 1900 before leaving forSouth Africa. He retired from the bank in 1915.
He became a director of theBank of England in 1907 and duringWorld War I he was a financial advisor to government departments. He was appointedDeputy Governor in 1917 and he becameGovernor in 1920. He engineered the bank's takeover of theAnglo-Austrian Bank inVienna and the creation of theAnglo-Czechoslovak Bank inPrague. Under Norman, the bank underwent significant change. He was a supporter of the return to thegold standard, which he called "knaveproof",[6] in 1925, despite the opposition of economistJohn Maynard Keynes.[7] In 1931, at the height of the Great Depression, Norman commented, "Unless dramatic measures are taken to save it, the capitalist system throughout the civilized world will be wrecked within a year";[8][9] he borrowed $250 million in an attempt to stave off speculative attacks upon the pound.[10] Later that year, however, the United Kingdom was forced to permanently abandon the gold standard after the publication of the May Report on the UK's budget deficit provoked a further financial crisis.[11] Norman was returning from a cruise to Canada at the time, and did not learn the news until he docked in the UK.[12]
Norman was a close friend of the German Central Bank PresidentHjalmar Schacht, who served in Hitler's government as President of the Reichsbank and Minister of Economics between 1934 and 1937. Norman was also so close to the Schacht family that he was godfather to one of Schacht's grandchildren.[13] Both were members of theAnglo-German Fellowship and theBank for International Settlements.
While in the past Norman's role in the transferring of Czech gold to theNazi regime in March 1939 was uncertain, careful investigation by historian David Blaazer into the Bank of England's internal memos has established that Norman knowingly authorized the transfer of Czech gold fromCzechoslovakia's No. 2 account with theBank for International Settlements to the No. 17 account, which Norman was aware was managed by the GermanReichsbank. Within ten days the money had been transferred to other accounts. In autumn 1939, two months after the outbreak of World War II, Norman again supported transfers of Czech gold to Hitler's Germany. On this occasion, the government intervened to block Norman's initiative.[14] He retired from the bank in 1944.
Following his retirement, he was raised to the peerage asBaron Norman, of St Clere in the County of Kent, on 13 October 1944.[15] In addition to receiving the Distinguished Service Order, Norman was sworn of thePrivy Council in 1923[16] and was created a Grand Officer of theOrder of the Crown.[17]
On 2 November 1933, Norman marriedPriscilla Cecilia Maria Reyntiens, London councillor and granddaughter ofMontagu Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon. He gained two stepsons from this marriage;Sir Simon Towneley andSir Peregrine Worsthorne. Lord Norman & Cecilia had no children and on his death he passed the bulk of his estate to his nephew, Brigadier Hugh Norman.
In 1944, while visiting his brother on his country estate in Hertfordshire, Norman went for a walk and tripped over, causing an injury from which he never recovered. There is an amusing anecdote contained in Bill Bryson's book, that he tripped over a cow, but it is unclear where this anecdote came from as it is not known within his family.[18]
From 1904, Norman's London home was Thorpe Lodge, Airlie Gardens offCampden Hill in Kensington, which had been built c1816. Norman worked withWalter Knight Shirley andErnest Gimson to modernise the house and redecorate it in theArts and Crafts style. Lord Norman died at Thorpe Lodge in 1950 following astroke. The house later became part ofHolland Park School.[19]
During his married life, he lived at the Manor ofSt Clere inKemsing, Kent, which he acquired from his uncle in 1935.[20]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Governor of the Bank of England 1920–1944 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Norman 1944–1950 | Extinct |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
