Accountants in the Second World War

On 7th March 1951 a handwritten roll of honour was dedicated with the names of the 202 members and 273 articled clerks who lost their lives in the war of 1939-1945. This is displayed in a glass case in the Members' Room at Chartered Accountants' Hall and included in the short service of remembrance held each year on armistice day.

The full list of names were printed in a slender book under the title Roll of Honour 1939-1945 but the ICAEW Library & Information Service also holds a rare reproduction of the original vellum Roll of Honour handwritten by D. L. Mahoney. The handwritten roll contains information that was not included in the printed list, such as location, rank, service and brief details of the circumstances of death.

A volunteer has transcribed the entries from the library copy and these lists can be accessed through the links below.

• Roll of Honour 1939-1945: Members
• Roll of Honour 1939-1945: Articled Clerks

Jean Laidlaw was a young volunteer Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) officer who played a vital part in defeating the German U Boat menace before embarking upon a long career as a Chartered Accountant.

• Read her story

Step back in time with a remarkable photograph, picturing a group of young men on the brink of the Second World War. Our Library team looked into what their lives had in store for them.

• Read their stories

Venner’s story has been recorded in the article ‘John Franklyn Venner FCA: An Orthodox Chartered Accountant Working in an Unorthodox Organization’ by Karen McBride, Ian Piper and Alan Tait (available below).

Between 1940-1945, he worked in the Special Operations Executive (SOE), which was set up by the government to facilitate clandestine warfare through unconventional means, including unorthodox financing schemes. Venner’s efforts as Director of Finance and Administration at the SOE – which included black market foreign currency transactions - generated over $16m in foreign currency notes and made a major contribution to the war effort.

He began at the SOE in the rank of Squadron Leader, before being promoted to Wing Commander and finally Acting Group Captain. He was awarded the Companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (C.M.G.) in the Kings Birthday Honours list of 14 June 1945, in recognition of his service.

Online articles

The Library provides access to leading business, finance and management journals. These journals are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users subject to suppliers' terms of use. 

The details for this article were taken from The history of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, 1880-1965, and of its founder accountancy bodies, 1870-1880 by Sir H.G.Howitt (Heinemann, 1966) which tells the full story of the ICAEW up to 1966 in 269 pages, with further details of the role Chartered Accountants played in both wars.

The ICAEW Library & Information Service holds a reproduction of the vellum original handwritten Roll of Honour and further copies of the dedication. See our catalogue entry for further details of our holdings.

To find out more about the resources mentioned in this article contact the Library & Information Service on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or email library@icaew.com