Sir Edward Robert Peacock,

GCVO The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

(1871–1962) was a Canadian-born

merchant bank A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage, it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in comm ...

er. He is perhaps best known as a director of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

, or for his role as

receiver general A receiver general (or receiver-general) is an officer responsible for accepting payments on behalf of a government, and for making payments to a government on behalf of other parties. See also * Treasurer * Receiver General for Canada * Recei ...

to the

Duchy of Cornwall A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between "sovereign ...

, which provides a source of independent income to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

Early life

Peacock was born at St Elmo in

Glengarry County, Ontario Glengarry County, an area covering , is a county in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is still inhabited by the descendants of 18th and early 19th-century Scottish Highland pioneer settlers from Lochaber, was historically a Gàidhealtachd com ...

. His father was a Congregationalist minister who died when Peacock was 12. His mother moved to

Almonte, Ontario Almonte ( ; ) is a former mill town in Lanark County, in the eastern portion of Ontario, Canada. Formerly a separate municipality, Almonte is a ward of the town of Mississippi Mills, Ontario, Mississippi Mills, which was created on January 1, 199 ...

, where he received his schooling. He later attended Queen's University in Kingston and, under the tutelage of

Adam Shortt Adam Shortt (1859–1931) was an economic historian in Ontario. He was the first full-time employed academic in the field at a Canadian university ( Queen's University). Biography Shortt was born in Kilworth, Canada West, on 24 November 1859 to ...

, studied philosophy and

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

, graduating in 1894 with a gold and silver medal.

Career

Peacock began his career as a teacher at

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an independent day and boarding school for boys in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as Canada's most prestigious preparatory school, and ha ...

in Toronto. In 1902, he left the teaching profession to work for the investment company

Dominion Securities RBC Dominion Securities Inc. is a Canadian investment brokerage that has been in operation since 1901. The brokerage was founded by George Albertus Cox and was part of a network of financial companies he controlled. In 1973, DS appointed Anthony ...

(established a year earlier by

George Albertus Cox George Albertus Cox (7 May 1840 – 16 January 1914) was a very prominent Canadian businessman and a member of the Senate of Canada. Life and career He was born in Colborne, Upper Canada, in 1840. He began work as a telegrapher for the Mont ...

), moving to London in 1907. He caught the attention of

Montagu Norman Montagu Collet Norman, 1st Baron Norman DSO PC (6 September 1871 – 4 February 1950) was an English banker, best known for his role as the Governor of the Bank of England from 1920 to 1944. Norman led the bank during the toughest period in ...

, who made him a director of the Bank of England in 1921. Peacock later resigned from the Bank of England to become a partner of

Barings Bank Barings Bank was a British merchant bank based in London. It was one of England's oldest merchant banks after Berenberg Bank, Barings' close collaborator and German representative. It was founded in 1762 by Francis Baring, a British-born member ...

, although he returned following the 1929 death of the chief officer of Barings, Lord Revelstoke. During this time, he was made a director of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

, as well as the

Rhodes Trust Rhodes House is a building part of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on South Parks Road in central Oxford, and was built in memory of Cecil Rhodes, an alumnus of the university and a major benefactor. It is listed Grade II* ...

. In 1929, he was made receiver general to the Duchy of Cornwall, which entailed dealing with the Royal finances. For these services, he was knighted by

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

in 1934. He was receiver general until the death of

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

in 1952. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Peacock was in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

as a liaison between the

United States government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

and the Bank of England. Just before the war, he and Montagu Norman were asked by Admiral

John Henry Godfrey Admiral John Henry Godfrey CB (10 July 1888 – 29 August 1970) was an officer of the Royal Navy and Royal Indian Navy, specialising in navigation. Ian Fleming is said to have based James Bond's boss, " M", on Godfrey. Life and career Godfr ...

British Naval Intelligence The Naval Intelligence Division (NID) was created as a component part of the Admiralty War Staff in 1912. It was the intelligence arm of the United Kingdom, British British Admiralty, Admiralty before the establishment of a unified Defence Inte ...

to find a personal assistant for the admiral. Peacock found and recruited

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

, who later wrote the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

novels.

Personal life

In 1912, Peacock married Katherine Coates. Her father was John Coates, an engineer and founder of Turner & Coates Limited on Cannon Street in London (now in Salford, Greater Manchester) and with interests in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Peacock was subsequently made chairman of the new John Coates and Company Limited. They had no children of their own, but they adopted two daughters. After a distinguished career, Peacock retired to his estate near

Ascot Ascot, Ascott or Askot may refer to: Places Australia * Ascot, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane * Ascot, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality * Ascot Park, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide * Ascot (Ballarat), town near Ballarat in Victoria ...

and died of natural causes in 1962, leaving a large amount of money to Queen's University in Canada. Queen's honoured him by instituting the Sir Edward Peacock Professorships. David Haglund is the current Sir Edward Peacock Professor of Political Studies,

James G. MacKinnon James Gordon MacKinnon (born January 4, 1951) is currently the Sir Edward Peacock Professor of Econometrics in the Department of Economics at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, where he has spent his entire academic career and previously ...

is the current Sir Edward Peacock Professor of Econometrics, and

Robin Boadway Robin William Boadway, (born June 10, 1943) is a Canadian economist. He held the David Smith Chair at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. Earlier he was Sir Edward Peacock Professor of Economic Theory at Queen's University. He has taught ...

is the Sir Edward Peacock Professor of Economic Theory. Peacock's birthplace at St Elmo, Ontario, is marked by a plaque erected by the Glengarry Historical Society, which maintains a scholarship fund endowed by the Peacock family in his memory.

References

Queen's University biography of Sir Edward Peacock

External links

*
Edward Peacock portrait courtesy of the Baring Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peacock, Edward Robert 1871 births 1962 deaths Canadian bankers Canadian philanthropists Canadian Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order English bankers Queen's University at Kingston alumni National Council of Social Service presidents People associated with the Bank of England People from the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry