Born London, May 16, 1927.
Died London, February 3, 2008, aged 80.
A successful and popular solicitor, John Walford made his name by arbitrating the bitter border dispute between Chile and Argentina.
Following his father, he went to school at Cheltenham College, university at Cambridge, and then into law.
He was articled in 1948 to Bischoff & Co, a renowned small City firm. He became a partner soon after qualifying in 1950 and was senior partner from 1979-87.
At 34 he was the youngest ever member of the Law Society council, and its first Jewish member. He resigned in 1969 to head the international tribunal over the long-running South American dispute, so ending his chances of being the society’s first Jewish president.
His first decision settled the southern border in Chile’s favour. He and leading counsel, Professor Sir Eli Lauterpacht, rode horseback into the High Andes to inspect the watercourses described in the 1881 border determination.
This was followed by the far more divisive Beagle Channel dispute over three islands in the strategic passage. Argentina’s military junta rejected their further award to Chile in 1977 and prepared for war over waterway access, mineral rights and national pride.
Argentina also appealed to the Pope but he upheld the awards. The two countries did not sign a compromise treaty until 1984, following the junta’s fall. Chile’s President Salvador Allende made Walford a Commander of the Order of Bernardo O’Higgins — a medal he always wore with pride.
Primarily a corporate lawyer, John Walford acted in the 1950s and ‘60s for Royal Exchange Assurance, holding a daily surgery at the Royal Exchange to review policy claims. He worked with the Bank of London and South America on innovative banking products, notably in the wholesale banking market.
He brought his creativity to the fledgling unit trust industry, developing the concept of accumulation units. It immediately became the industry standard and has remained so.
He saw the unit trust practice he advised grow into a respected, successful fund management advisory team. He enjoyed beating the tax man, especially in periods of high taxation.
He loved the law, both academically and in its application of justice. His firm was his second family. In his early years he worked as a volunteer at the Poor Man’s Lawyer at Hammersmith, the forerunner of Legal Aid Centres.
A governor of the College of Law for 20 years, he sat on the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal, and was its president for nine years. He was on the court of the City of London Solicitors’ Company from 1970 until his death, and master in 1981-82.
On retiring from Bischoffs, he joined the Office of the Banking Ombudsman. He was a governor of St John’s Hospital for skin diseases for over 20 years and chairman of the Skin Disease Research Fund.
In 1953 he married Peggy, daughter of Captain R F Jessel, RN, a distinguished wartime destroyer captain, at the New West End Synagogue.
He is survived by her, two sons, two daughters and three grandchildren