Sir Julian Stephen Alfred Hodge (15 October 1904 – 17 July 2004) was a

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

-born

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

and

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

er who lived in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

for most of his life, from the age of five.

Background and beginnings

Julian Hodge was born on 15 October 1904 in

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

, south London, the son of an electrician. His mother was Irish. At the age of four he moved with his family to

Pontllanfraith Pontllanfraith ( cy, Pontllanfraith ) is a large village and community located in the Sirhowy Valley in Caerphilly County Borough, Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It is situated adjacent to the town of Blackwood, with t ...

in the South Wales Valleys. He left school from the

Lewis School Pengam Lewis School, Pengam is a comprehensive school, founded in 1729 in the parish and village of Gelligaer and, later, moved to the nearby village of Gilfach, in the Rhymney Valley in South Wales. It was founded and funded by a legacy of Sir Edward L ...

at age 13 but his mother encouraged him to read classic novels and recite poetry to further his education. His first job was as an assistant in a chemist's shop. He joined the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

as a junior clerk in 1920 and studied

accountancy Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "language ...

in his spare time, qualifying as a corporate

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certifi ...

in 1930. He went into business for himself as an accountant in 1934.John Cunningham (21 July 2004
"Sir Julian Hodge" (obituary)
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. He married Moira Thomas in 1951 and had three children. Hodge formed the idea of creating a national bank for Wales. His business was initially based on insurance and money lending and he floated his company as the Hodge Group in 1961. In 1972 he formed the

Bank of Wales The Bank of Wales (Welsh: ''Banc Cymru'') was a commercial bank in Wales which was founded in 1971. The bank was taken over by the Bank of Scotland plc in 1986 and ceased trading under the Welsh brand in 2002. It is now a trading name used by B ...

(originally known as the ''Commercial Bank of Wales''), and later the

Julian Hodge Bank Hodge Bank is a bank in the United Kingdom. It is named after Sir Julian Hodge. The bank was formed in 1987 as Julian Hodge Bank, and is headquartered in Cardiff, Wales. In 1965 the bank founded the ''Hodge Life Assurance Company'', a subsidia ...

, in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. Hodge bought Ty Gwyn, a prominent house in the village of

Lisvane Lisvane ( cy, Llys-faen) is an affluent community in the north of Cardiff, the capital of Wales, located north of the city centre. Lisvane is generally considered to be one of the wealthiest residential areas of Wales, with an average house ...

, in the suburbs of Cardiff, in 1961. He also founded the Jane Hodge foundation, named after his mother, to give money to charitable causes, often offering a 'double your money' challenge where he would match the amounts raised by the public."Banker Sir Julian Hodge dies, 99"
''BBC News'', 19 July 2004. Retrieved 6 October 2019. In later life from his home as a tax exile in

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

, Hodge helped fund the campaign for a "No" vote in the

1997 Welsh devolution referendum The Welsh devolution referendum of 1997 was a pre-legislative referendum held in Wales on 18 September 1997 over whether there was support for the creation of a National Assembly for Wales, and therefore a degree of self-government. The refere ...

and his son, Robert Hodge, was chairman of the "Just Say No" campaign. In 2004 the

Sunday Times Rich List The ''Sunday Times Rich List'' is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth. The list is updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday news ...

estimated his fortune at £48 Million, making him the 18th richest person in Wales, and the oldest of Britain's 1,000 richest people. He died at his home on Jersey, three months short of his 100th birthday. A donation in his will funded the construction of the Sir Julian Hodge Memorial Organ at

St Peter's Church, Roath St Peter's Church, Roath is the oldest surviving Roman Catholic church in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It is administered by the Rosminians. History When the Rosminians (the Institute of Charity) first arrived in Cardiff in 1854, the town h ...

, Cardiff.

References

External links

Julian Hodge Bank

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodge, Julian 1904 births 2004 deaths Businesspeople from London British bankers Knights Bachelor People associated with Cardiff University People educated at Lewis School, Pengam British Roman Catholics 20th-century English businesspeople