PM Woodward


Chief Commoner 1993

A Profile of the Master

Mr C Douglas Woodward joined Cripplegate Ward Club in 1971, became an active member and remained so. He was elected to the Club Committee and served the six successive offices of Assistant, then Under, Upper Warden, finally elected Master in 1990. During these years he was very active in other civic offices. Member of the City of London Court of Common Council from 1971 until 1996 and honoured with the office of Chief Commoner in 1993.

All these civic obligations had to be fitted into a very busy professional life where he was, for many years until 1989, the Director of the Fire Protection Association.

Following on from this he became Director-General of the Arson Prevention Bureau, a joint enterprise by the insurance industry and the Government to combat the steadily rising number of fires being started deliberately -an area of crime which had hitherto received little serious attention. He had already become the President of a European Arson Prevention Institute which ran seminars in Brussels and Luxembourg attended by fire, police, insurance and various other interests from all the European Union countries.

In May 1990 the Society of Fire Protection Engineers in the United States, with typical American generosity awarded Douglas their accolade of "Fire Protection Man of the Year", an honour normally bestowed on Americans. Alas, he was unable to get to the awards banquet in San Antonio to bask in this well deserved glory.

He downplayed the effort of doing all of these various City and fire jobs and allowed they were accommodated easily in the working week because he lived half way between the office in Aldersgate Street and the Guildhall, and when necessary could get from one to the other by walking very quickly..or occasionally running.

Douglas Woodward was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1994 to the delight of all his friends and associates, and especially the members of the Ward Club he has served for so many years.

Master 1990

The main functions of his year as Master were the AGM, Annual Luncheon, Annual Banquet, Carol Service and finally the AGM to appoint the next Master

Annual Luncheon - This followed the AGM and was held in some splendour in The Old Library, Guildhall. Mr & Mrs Woodward entertained The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor, Alderman Sir Hugh Bidwell and Lady Bidwell accompanied by Sheriff Derek Edwards and Mrs Edwards. A most successful occasion.
This is a short extract from the speech by the Master at luncheon:

"More than a century after the club was founded the voting pattern has swung right back to what it had been in the early and mid 1800's. Now as then it is almost exclusively the residents who provide the input into the City's government. Eleven of the twelve common councilmen for Cripplegate are Barbican residents whereas when I came to live here 20 years ago we had twelve businessmen to represent us".

The Annual Banquet - A favourite Club function was held this year at Haberdashers' Hall in Noble Street. More about this in the extract from the Master's Report

The Carol Service was held as usual in our "parish church" the ancient St Giles Cripplegate. A grand occasion for celebration and conviviality leading up to the Christmas period..

All too soon it seems the Master's year draws to it's close with the AGM and the election of the new Master. However before stepping aside Douglas gave his resume of the year in the Master's Report. - Extract................

"My own 1990, in addition to Corporation jobs - Chairman of the Libraries Committee, Governor of the Museum of London and Governor of the City of London School for Girls - had all manner of other excitements. One of the most interesting was to be Master that year of the Cripplegate Ward Club, the event inaugurated with a fine luncheon in the Old Library, Guildhall, attended by Lord Mayor Hugh Bidwell and his wife Jenny, and Sheriff Derek Edwards and his wife Julie. In my speech proposing the toast to the Lord Mayor, Sheriffs and City Corporation, I expressed the hope that there would be a revival of interest in the Ward on the part of the numerous business houses which still abounded in Cripplegate.

We followed this initiative up with a reception at BP's Britannic House headquarters hosted by BP's Managing Director Ray Knowland. In my remarks to Ward members and specially invited people from firms in Cripplegate, I made the point that while the City continued as a separate entity of London government, having its unique business vote, it was wrong that so few business people in the Ward took any interest in civic affairs.

This meeting which discussed a wide range of City activities - rates, the amount of building work going on, how to get on the electoral roll and provision of another lending library - was something of a pioneering effort. Alas, it did not result in much new participation by our business firms in civic affairs but it was a starting point for all those "consultation" projects which the City is offered these days -perhaps more than we really need!

The great event of our Ward Club year was the annual banquet held in 1990 at the old Haberdashers' Hall in Noble Street. My chief guest and speaker was Sir James Miskin, just retired as the Recorder of London, the senior judge at the Central Criminal Court and one who plays a major role in City ceremonial. That night he let his hair down and advocated an early return to flogging and hanging -policies which although welcomed by some of those present, did not go down too well with others. A great chap!"

SAC

Publications by C Douglas Woodward CBE

Saving the City's Heritage
A History of the City Heritage Society 1973-2003

BSI - The story of Standards

For publication in 2008
The Goings-on in Guildhall

Master 1990 - C Douglas Woodward CBE