Accountants in the Second World War

At the end of the war, approximately 2,795 members were on national service. Beyond this, many members played a vital role in wartime industries and ministries, keeping the war effort going.

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

The ICAEW Library & Information Service holds a reproduction of the vellum original handwritten Roll of Honour and further copies of the dedication.

We have compiled lists of decorations and awards made to ICAEW Members and Articled Clerks based on information found in announcements in The Accountant and the List of Members from 1950. We have also included awards to Members and Articled Clerks of the Society of Incorporated Accountants & Auditors, which merged with the ICAEW in 1957.

There are over 300 individual awards, including two Victoria Crosses, a George Cross, three George Medals, 16 Distinguished Service Orders, 17 Distinguished Service Crosses and 2 Distinguished Service Medals.

• Decorations awarded to Members for Military Services
• Decorations awarded to Articled Clerks for Military Services
• Medals Winners: Philip Sidney V.C., George Gunn V.C. M.C. and Bill Skelton D.S.O., D.F.C.
• Medal Winners: Sub-Lt. Robert Aitken D.S.O. and the sinking of the Tirpitz
• Medal Winners: Lt. Geoffrey Turner G.C. G.M. and Lt. Mark Ebel G.M. - heroes of the Liverpool Blitz

• Prisoners of War and examinations
• PoW conscientious objector: Alan Russell Dickinson
• PoW escape stories: Willis, Munyard, Boyce and Furman
• PoW escape stories: Michael Mounsey and John Peacock
• A list of known ICAEW member and articled clerk PoWs

• Women at War: a list of female accountants and articled clerks who volunteered for wartime service
• Jean Laidlaw: From sinking U-boats to balancing books

The role accountants played in industry and government ministries during and between the two world wars laid the foundations for the government’s use of chartered accountants to this day and cemented their importance in business.

• Read more

As well as for Prisoners of War, arrangements were made for men serving overseas to take examinations locally, presumably once the tide of the war had turned and there were safer areas and time for study. These started to be listed in the exam results section of The Accountant in September 1944 (August 1944's exams).

• See a list of articled clerks taking examinations overseas

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

Remembering the achievements of Baron Henry Alexander Benson, who was a major influence in British and international accountancy as well a member of S.O.E. in WW2.

•  Read his story

Tasked with one of the most dangerous espionage jobs during the Second World War, Gilbert Norman far surpassed the role’s life expectancy. But eventually, his luck ran out and he lost his life on 6 September 1944.

• Read his strory

How an accountant of flawless integrity ensured bribery and corruption helped to win the Second World War. ICAEW salutes the career of Group Captain John Franklyn Venner CMG, FCA.

• Read his story

A man who could have spent the Second World War using his accountancy skills behind a Civil Service desk, but who chose to become a field agent, commanding a team in enemy territory and paying the ultimate price.

• Read his story

An accountant that worked across Europe in the 1930s and then used his local knowledge, as well as his business and accounting skills to mastermind clandestine activities during the Second World War.

• Read his story