Sir David Floyd Ewin; St. Paul's Cathedral Administrator
Hyfler/Rosner
(Filed: 18/11/2003) Telegraph
Sir David Floyd Ewin, who has died aged 92, gave virtually the whole of his
working life - and many years of his retirement - to the service of St
Paul's Cathedral.
Floyd Ewin joined the staff at St Paul's as an administrative assistant in
1939 and five years later became Registrar and Receiver. In this post - akin
to that of a chief executive - he was, for the next 34 years, responsible
for the running of the cathedral and also for the organisational side of a
multitude of great national services, of which the largest and most notable
was the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965.
Born at Eltham, Surrey, on February 17 1911, David Ernest Thomas Floyd Ewin
left the local grammar school when he was 16 and, after a number of clerical
posts, arrived at St Paul's shortly before the outbreak of war. Floyd Ewin's
introduction to St Paul's was, literally, a baptism of fire; he enrolled in
the St Paul's Watch, which consisted of members of the cathedral staff and a
number of London architects and other volunteers who went on to the roof of
the building during air raids and extinguished incendiary bombs.
The Watch was on duty from August 26 1939 until the end of the war in
Europe. On December 29 1940, when there was a major raid on the City,
Churchill sent the message that "St Paul's must be saved at all costs". A
large number of incendiaries were dealt with, and it was acknowledged
afterwards that, if the other buildings in the City had been equally
well-protected, much of the consequent devastation would have been avoided.
When not engaged on this highly dangerous task, Floyd Ewin was more than
fully occupied with other serious problems arising from the war; the
cathedral was severely damaged in April 1941 when a large bomb penetrated
the roof and exploded inside. Services were thereafter held in the crypt.
By the end of the war Floyd Ewin was in charge of the administration (with a
staff consisting of only two full-time, and one part-time, assistants); and
he was faced with the mammoth task of facilitating the restoration of the
cathedral and the revival of its corporate life. He worked closely and
easily with the Dean, W R Matthews, who greatly valued Floyd Ewin's
efficiency and ability to keep calm in the most trying situations. When a
national appeal was launched, it was natural that Floyd Ewin should be at
the centre of the fundraising operation, as it was that he should become
joint treasurer of a new Friends of St Paul's organisation.
The Festival of Britain in 1951 was marked by a service attended by King
George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and it was from this time that the cathedral
blossomed as a major tourist attraction. Floyd Ewin ensured that the
ever-growing number of visitors were well-received, and provided a bookstall
which sold guidebooks and postcards. He later wrote two attractive guides to
the building.
When preparations began for the Coronation of the present Queen in
Westminster Abbey in 1953, Floyd Ewin was recruited, along with some others,
to assist with the administration. Designated a Gold Staff Officer, his
contribution was recognised by his appointment as LVO in 1954.
The funeral of Sir Winston Churchill occupied him intermittently for seven
years before it actually took place, since he was required to attend regular
secret meetings to ensure that the arrangements were entirely up to date.
Television cameras were admitted to St Paul's for the first time, and Floyd
Ewin's pivotal role in the event was rewarded by appointment as OBE.
In 1965 he found himself involved in something very different. He always got
on well with the controversial Canon John Collins, who was chairman of the
Defence and Aid Fund and much concerned to get money to South Africa for the
assistance of those facing political trials. The Fund was banned in South
Africa, but money was transmitted clandestinely through a City law firm,
with Floyd Ewin acting as the go-between. Although it was not his kind of
venture, he did it out of friendship for Collins, who protected his
anonymity.
Busy though he always was with cathedral affairs, Floyd Ewin was also much
involved in the life of the City, and for 33 years was a member of the Court
of Common Council, being a Deputy from 1972 to 1996. He was for several
years on the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs Committee, becoming chairman in 1987.
He was a Liveryman of the Wax Chandlers' Company and Senior Past Master of
the Scriveners' Company, as well as a committee member of numerous City
charities.
At the cathedral, the accumulation of power which he inevitably acquired
over the years caused some to view him with suspicion and distrust. There
was also a certain aloofness in his manner and an understanding of dignity
that would not permit the use of Christian names with his staff. But he was
by no means inflexible, and when Dean Matthews was succeeded by the New
Zealander Martin Sullivan in the 1960s, Floyd Ewin was ready to support his
new ideas and sometimes sensational activities.
David Floyd Ewin was knighted in 1974.
He died on November 11, and is survived by his wife Marion, and by a
daughter.