Sir Francis Lewis Castle Floud KCB KCSI KCMG (18 May 1875 – 17 April 1965) was a British civil servant and diplomat. Very unusually, he received three knighthoods for his public services.

Early life

Floud came from a clerical family. He was educated at

Cranleigh School Cranleigh School is a Private school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in the village of Cranleigh, Surrey. History It was opened on 29 September 1865 as a boys' school 'to provide a sound and plain education, on the principle ...

and

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, having refused to go to Oxford University because he did not wish to enter the church; his younger brother went in his stead. He entered the Board of Agriculture at a junior level in 1894 and, while working there, qualified as a barrister of

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

Service life

He served in a variety of posts before being appointed, in 1920, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. He was chairman of the board of customs and excise from 1927 to 1930 and then permanent secretary of the Ministry of Labour (1930-1934) during the very difficult period following the financial crisis, when unemployment and other benefits were cut by the National government. He served as British high commissioner to Canada from 1934 to 1938. and was invested as a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(KCMG) in the 1938 New Year Honours.

Floud Commission

From 1938 to 1940 he chaired the Bengal Land Revenue Commission, for which he was appointed a Knight Commander to the

Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander ( GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

(KCSI) in the 1941 New Year Honours and, in his retirement, a number of other public bodies.Who Was Who 2014

Family

Francis Floud married, in 1909, Phyllis, daughter of Colonel Everard A. Ford. They had two sons, Peter Floud and Bernard Floud MP and a daughter Phyllis, who married Peter du Sautoy.

External links

The Papers of Sir Francis Floud
held at

Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers ...

References

1875 births 1965 deaths Place of birth missing Place of death missing People educated at Cranleigh School Alumni of King's College London Members of Lincoln's Inn High commissioners of the United Kingdom to Canada Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George {{UK-diplomat-stub