Sir Edward Rodolph Forber, KCB,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(20 July 1878 – 8 July 1960) was an English civil servant. The eldest son of Thomas Forber, of Heathcott Street,

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, the young Forber was educated at Liverpool College,

University College, Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

, and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, where he was admitted in 1897 as a

sub-sizar At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined jo ...

and became a scholar in 1899. In 1900 he graduated B.A. in the

Mathematical Tripos The Mathematical Tripos is the mathematics course that is taught in the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. It is the oldest Tripos examined at the University. Origin In its classical nineteenth-century form, the tripos was a ...

with first-class honours and was 14th Wrangler. He proceeded to M.A. by seniority in 1904."FORBER, EDWARD RODOLPH" in '' Alumni Cantabrigienses'', Part II, Vol. II Chalmers–Fytche (1944)
p. 529
In 1900, Forber entered the civil service as a clerk to the Local Government Board. In 1905 at

Toxteth Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the historic county of Lancashire and the ceremonial county of Merseyside. Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Dingle, and Edge Hill. The area w ...

Forber married Catherine Mary Howell, and in May 1906 they had a son, Rodolph Francis Guy, born at Foots Cray and later baptized at St Bede's, Toxteth Park. In 1911 the family was living in

Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley and Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich. Before ...

. Forber’s father was then a Water Inspector working for the

Liverpool Corporation Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Mayor J ...

. In 1913 he died in mysterious circumstances. He was last seen alive in Liverpool on 23 January, and his body was found in the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Sefton on 17 February. In 1918 Forber was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

and in 1924 a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

. He was Deputy Secretary at the

Ministry of Health Ministry of Health may refer to: Note: Italics indicate now-defunct ministries. * Ministry of Health (Argentina) * Ministry of Health (Armenia) * Australia: ** Ministry of Health (New South Wales) * Ministry of Health (The Bahamas) * Ministry of ...

from 1925 to 1930, when he was appointed as Chairman of the

Board of Customs and Excise HM Customs and Excise (properly known as Her Majesty's Customs and Excise at the time of its dissolution) was a department of the British Government formed in 1909 by the merger of HM Customs and HM Excise; its primary responsibility was th ...

. Catherine Forber died in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

in 1928, aged 49. In 1929, Forber married secondly

Janet Lane-Claypon Janet Elizabeth Lane-Claypon, Lady Forber (3 February 1877 – 17 July 1967) was an English physician. She was one of the founders of the science of epidemiology, pioneering the use of cohort studies and case-control studies. Early life and ...

(1877–1967), a doctor and university administrator."Sir E. Forber", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' (London), 9 July 1960, p. 10. ."Lady Forber, D.Sc., M.D."
'' The British Medical Journal'', vol. 3, no. 5560 (27 July 1967), p. 314. An article about Forber in the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

'' in May 1931 called him Mr. E. Rodolph Forber, C.B., and mentioned that he was a Liverpudlian. In 1932 he was promoted to Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath and in 1934 became Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue. He retired in 1938, aged sixty, due to ill health. In 1934, Forber’s mother, Hannah Forber, died in Liverpool, where her estate was dealt with by her younger son, Thomas Forber, a shipping clerk. In 1940 his son R. F. Forber was commissioned into the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. Forber died on 8 July 1960 at White House, Claremont Road, Seaford, East Sussex, and was buried on 18 July at Bishopstone. His estate was valued for probate at £54,716."Edward Rodolph Forber" in ''East Sussex, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1995'', ancestry.co.uk, accessed 30 October 2022 An obituary in ''

'' said of Forber

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forber, Edward 1878 births 1960 deaths English civil servants People educated at Liverpool College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Civil servants in the Local Government Board