Cameron Cobbold, 1st Baron Cobbold

The Right Honourable The Lord Cobbold KG GCVO PC DL
Governor of the Bank of England
In office 1 March 1949 – 30 June 1961
Preceded by	The Lord Catto
Succeeded by	The Earl of Cromer
Personal details
Born	Cameron Fromanteel Cobbold (1904-09-14)14 September 1904 London, England
Died	1 November 1987(1987-11-01) (aged 83) Knebworth, Hertfordshire, England
Alma mater	King's College, Cambridge
Profession	Banker

Cameron Fromanteel Cobbold, 1st Baron Cobbold, KG, GCVO, PC, DL (14 September 1904 – 1 November 1987), was a British banker. He served as Governor of the Bank of England from 1949 to 1961 and as Lord Chamberlain from 1963 to 1971.

Early life

Born in London in 1904 to Lt.-Col. Clement John Fromanteel Cobbold and his wife Stella Willoughby Savile Cameron, Cobbold was educated at Eton College. He also spent one year at King's College, Cambridge.

Career

Bank of England

Cobbold joined the Bank of England at the invitation of bank Governor Montagu Norman in 1933. He was appointed Deputy Governor in 1945 and became governor in 1949. During his tenure he was sworn of the Privy Council (1959) and was created Baron Cobbold, of Knebworth in the County of Hertford (1960). He retired as governor in 1961.

Cobbold Commission

He subsequently led the Cobbold Commission in 1962 which studied the question of North Borneo and Sarawak's merger with Malaya to form Malaysia. In 1963, he was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order and Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth II. He served until 1971, and during his tenure the Lord Chamberlain's theatrical censorship role was abolished (1968) and he was appointed to the Order of the Garter (1970). Cobbold was appointed to be a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Hertford (1972).

In 1966, he received the Grand Decoration in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria.

Marriage and children

On 3 April 1930, Cobbold married Lady Hermione Millicent Bulwer-Lytton, daughter and heir of Victor Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl of Lytton. Their seat was at Knebworth House in Hertfordshire. They had two daughters and two sons:

• Jane Cobbold (10 May 1931 – 16 February 1937)
• Hon. Susan Victoria Cobbold (born 24 May 1933)
• David Antony Fromanteel Lytton Cobbold, 2nd Baron Cobbold (14 July 1937 – 9 May 2022)
• Hon. Rowland John Fromanteel Cobbold (born 20 June 1944)

Lord Cobbold died at Knebworth in November 1987, aged 83. He was succeeded in the barony by his elder son, David.

Arms

Coat of arms of Cameron Fromanteel Cobbold, 1st Baron Cobbold, KG, GCVO, PC, DL

Coronet A Baron's Coronet Crest A lion statant guardant Argent ducally crowned Azure resting the dexter paw on an escutcheon Vert charged with three escutcheons each Argent a border engrailed Or. Escutcheon Sable a chevron Or between in chief two bezants and in base a lion passant guardant Or on a chief dancetty Or two ducal coronets Azure. Supporters On either side a golden labrador proper resting the inner hind foot on a battering ram fesswise also proper garnished and the heads inwards Azure. Motto REBUS ANGUSTIS FORTIS (Brave in adversity)

Further reading

Clive Hodges: Cobbold & Kin: Life Stories from an East Anglian Family (Woodbridge, Boydell Press, 2014) ISBN 9781843839545

References

• Taylor, Peter (May 2005). "Cobbold, Cameron Fromanteel, first Baron Cobbold (1904–1987)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/40108. Retrieved 7 November 2009. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)