Book Of Remembrances

Fred Crawley CBE - LOTS

Frederick William Crawley CBE FCIB FRAeS

It is with sadness that we inform you of the passing of Fred Crawley, following a long fight against cancer. He was 88 years of age.

Fred’s tabling career began in the City of London Round Table No. 13, which he joined in the late 1950s. He held several posts, serving as Chairman in 1962-63 and Area Treasurer in 1964. Fred is remembered with much affection by our current member, Ivan Wainer, who joined RT13 in 1961, having recently arrived from apartheid South Africa. “Fred was my mentor both in business and personally; he helped me establish my optometric practice in Leadenhall Market by lending me £500. This proved to be my own money and we dined out on this for many years!”.

Fred moved on to the London Old Tablers Society in 1966. .He was a regular attendee and was very supportive of LOTS events and endeavours. Most recently he facilitated dinners at the RAF Club in Piccadilly for the City of London RT13 Charter Night and LOTS Ladies Evenings. This year the Society elected Fred an Honorary Life Member, a distinction that much pleased him.

Aside from his family whom he always put first, Fred had two great passions. The first was flying. As a boy he was fascinated by planes; he had a large collection of model aircraft and was knowledgeable on makes and marks. This spurred his ambition to join the RAF, however in 1942 at the age of 16 he was considered too young. In response, he joined Lloyds Bank on the West Country as a junior clerk. In 1944 he was finally accepted by the RAF, who posted him to India to serve in the meteorology section, not his ideal posting! Following his demob in 1946 he returned to Lloyds Bank.

Fred’s natural ability and application saw him rise steadily through the Bank’s ranks. He was given responsibility for several of the major transformations that affected the bank during the 80’s and 90’s. Fred was appointed to several senior appointments culminating in the post of Deputy Chief Executive of Lloyds Bank. This success enabled Fred to sponsor his second love, aviation. He was able to persuade the Bank to support the fledgling International Military Air Shows and the bank’s sponsorship was critical to its later success. As it chief sponsor Fred was called upon to host, entertain and inform many high ranking political, military and royal guests. Fred later became a dedicated fundraiser for various RAF charities and the chair of the RAF Benevolent Fund. He was awarded the CBE for services to charity in 1998 and in 2006 was granted the Freedom of the City of London,

For us young tablers Fred was a formidable figure. A perfect gentleman of the old school, a delightful dinner companion and a colleague who set a standard of behaviour we still remember and aspire to.

Fred’s beloved wife Eva passed away in 2005 and he is survived by daughters Fiona and Nicola and six grandchildren. He will be missed by many in our organisation, many in the world of banking and aeronautics and especially by his colleagues at the RAF Charities and the RAF Association.

Donations may be made in memory of Frederick Crawley by cheque to RAF Benevolent Fund or Prostate Cancer UK. Please write "Frederick Crawley" on the reverse and post to RAF Benevolent Fund, 67 Portland Place, London W1B 1AR or Prostate Cancer UK, Fourth floor, The Counting House, 53 Tooley Street, London SE1 2QN. Donations can also be made online at http://memorygiving.com/frederickcrawley