In memory of Professor Alec Ford

It is with very fond memories that the Department announces the death of Professor Alec Ford. Alec was a founding member of Warwick’s Department of Economics, where he served for 25 years as Reader and then Professor, including a term as Department Chair.

Having trained as an economist in PPE at Oxford, Alec discovered economic history through the international Gold Standard. He was one of the pioneers who took Warwick to the forefront of the practice of economics in the UK from its earliest days.

In addition to his seminal research in international economic history he was also an author and skilled teacher. At an institutional level, Alec made a powerful contribution to the University, serving several terms as Pro-vice-Chancellor, the first - and so far the only - economist to do so.

In his foreword to Alec’s Festschrift, Bryan Sadler provided the perfect testimony:

It must not be thought that Alec is a man of righteous solemnity. He is not. He is a very cheerful chap, much given to swapping jokes, to Wadham Gaudies, to supping ale of the right quality, a steam railway enthusiast, a railway photographer of great skill and even greater modesty, a family man, a kind man, and a good colleague.