Jeremy Morse

Born in 1928[3] to Francis John Morse and his wife, Kinbarra (née Armfield-Marrow), he was educated at West Downs School, Winchester College,[4] and New College, Oxford. A career banker, he began with Williams and Glyn's Bank and went on to be chairman of Lloyds Bank between 1977 and 1993. He served on the Board of the Bank of England as an Executive Director from 1965 to 1972 and as a non-executive from 1993 to 1997.[5] He was also the first Chairman of the International Monetary Fund's Committee of Twenty (C20).[6] In 1975, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) "for services to the reform of the international monetary system".[7]

He had a keen interest in cryptic crosswords and was a skilful writer of clues. His record of success in the clue-writing competitions of Ximenes and Azed was such that Azed's December 2008 Competition puzzle was dedicated to the occasion of his eightieth birthday.[8] He had puzzles published under the pseudonym "Esrom" (his surname in reverse).[9]

In addition to crosswords, Morse had an interest in other types of word puzzles, and was a frequent contributor to Word Ways: The Journal of Recreational Linguistics. He was also a chess writer and wrote a book called Chess Problems: Tasks and Records.

Colin Dexter's fictional detective, Inspector Morse, was named after him.[10]

In 1955, he married Belinda Marianne, daughter of Lt-Colonel R. B. Y. Mills, and they had three sons and two daughters (one of whom died young). Lady Morse died in 2017.[11]

In 2006 Morse was awarded the title of World Federation for Chess Composition Honorary Master.

He was an honorary fellow of New College, Oxford,[12] and of All Souls College, Oxford.[13] He died on 4 February 2016 at the age of 87.[14]

• Portraits of Jeremy Morse at the National Portrait Gallery, London
• Cowe, Roger (8 February 2016). "Sir Jeremy Morse obituary: Chairman of Lloyds Bank whose cerebral style was said to have been the model for the TV detective Inspector Morse". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
• Childs, Martin (10 February 2016). "Sir Jeremy Morse: Banker who steered Lloyds from the brink of disaster and was the inspiration for Colin Dexter's fictional detective". The Independent. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
• "Sir Jeremy Morse: Erudite banker and crossword expert who was the inspiration for the fictional Inspector Morse". The Times. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2019.