Lord Sandford remembered

WaterAid is sad to report the death on 13 January 2009 of its Vice President and one of its early founders, The Revd Lord Sandford of Banbury, at the age of 88.

At the official signing in 1981. Left to right: (seated) Maurice Lowther, William Clark, Lord Sandford, Sir Robert Marshall, Sir John Wills, (standing) John Isherwood, David Kinnersley.

Lord Sandford was a naval officer, clergyman, politician, environmentalist and a philanthropist. 

He served in the Royal Navy between 1938 and 1955 and was awarded the DSC in May 1943 on active service in the Mediterranean.  

His naval career was cut short by ill health in 1955 after which he chose to follow his vocation and train for the ministry in the Church of England.

In 1958 he took up his first post, as a curate in Harpenden in Hertfordshire, where he remained for five years until appointed Chaplain to the Bishop of St Albans.

In 1959 he succeeded to his father's title and took his seat in the House of Lords. He continued in ministry and as the Tory Whip in House of Lords until in 1970 he became a junior minister in the Conservative Government in the newly created Department of the Environment, speaking on seven issues including local government, water, forestry, transport, housing and conservation in the Lords. 

It was through this work in the new Department of the Environment that he came into contact with Sir Robert Marshall, then a Second Permanent Secretary at the department. At about the same time the UN began to highlight the growing crisis in water provision in the developing world. Sir Robert Marshall and the National Water Council, of which he was Chair, organised a conference to coordinate the response from the UK water industry – then in public ownership – to this crisis.

Out of this gathering was born the idea for a water charity, supported by the water industry, with Sir Robert Marshall and David Kinnersley, also from the National Water Council and a leading economist driving progress. Lord Sandford was well known at the time as a senior politician and environmentalist and was an obvious choice to work with Sir Robert and David Kinnersley. Thus the WaterAid trust was formed in 1981 "for the relief of poverty and suffering among the peoples of the developing countries through the improvement of drinking water supplies and sanitation" and carried Lord Sandford's signature.  

Having been a founding Trustee of WaterAid, Lord Sandford naturally became a director and member of the Council of the incorporated WaterAid.

WaterAid’s first Chair, Sir Robert Marshall, stood down when the National Water Council was being wound up in 1982 and Lord Sandford was appointed his successor. 

He saw himself, with customary modesty, as very much a ‘caretaker’ until WaterAid’s Council and the leaders in the water industry could make a new appointment.  However, it was his wisdom and leadership that saw WaterAid through the critical period of consolidation between 1982 and 1984 when our future was by no means guaranteed, and then on the road to the effective and influential organisation we now are.

Lord Sandford’s career was wide ranging and of national importance.  He was Chairman of the Sandford Group review of the National Parks. Out of office he founded Heritage Education. He was Chairman of Community Task Force from 1977 to 1982; a director of the Ecclesiastical Insurance Group from 1977 to 1989; Chairman of the Association of District Councils from 1980 to 1986; Chairman, Redundant Churches Department of Church Commissioners, and a Church Commissioner; and Chairman, South East Regional Planning Council from 1981 to 1989.

Lord Sandford was also one of the major figures in WaterAid’s early development, whose influence is felt to the present time. Jon Lane OBE, currently Executive Director with the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council was WaterAid’s second Chief Executive Officer [1995 - 1999] and remembers Lord Sandford well: "During my time as Director, Lord Sandford was always interested and ready to give encouragement and support. His experience and wisdom were matched only by his modesty and courtesy."

Lord Sandford at the official signing in 1981.

Lord Sandford continued to be keenly interested and involved in the work and progress of WaterAid, which meant a great deal to him. Although in recent years he was unable to be as active in WaterAid matters as he would have wished, he kept in touch and involved through contact with fellow trustees from the early days and through his wife Catharine.He was appointed Vice President in 1995 in recognition of the huge role he played. 

WaterAid is extremely fortunate to have had such a strong and visionary group of founding Trustees.  It was they who set out the principles under which we have been operating for the past 27 years, and continue to do so to this day.

We all owe Lord Sandford a great debt of thanks.