A commitment to integrity

Sam Wainwright (BSc Economics 1952, MSc Economics 1954) arrived in the UK as a Jewish refugee in 1938. His son, David, reflects on his father’s journey, from settling in England and meeting his wife at LSE to championing financial integrity in the banking sector.

Early days

My father, Sam, arrived in the UK as a 14-year-old boy in 1938. Born to a Jewish family of Polish origin, his childhood had been spent in Vienna, where his father owned a business selling flour to bakeries. Following the Anschluss, life became increasingly difficult, and Sam’s father registered him for the Kindertransport. He was placed in a hostel for Jewish boys in St Mark’s Road, Ladbroke Grove, where he made lifelong friendships. But the shadow of the Nazi’s lay on him heavily. His mother died of cancer not long after he arrived in England, while his father was transported to Kovno, Lithuania, where he was murdered by the Nazis in 1941.

I received a postcard from my father, which said, ‘Please try and get me a visa to England.’ And I went to the Anglo-Polish committee, who said yes, we can arrange it, but we would need £100. Well, it so happened that my father had contacts in London and £200 with a friend. So, I went to this friend…and they refused to give it to me.

After leaving school, he worked first as a toolmaker, then joined the American Army in 1945 as a censor as part of the de-Nazification of Germany. It was on his return from this that he completed his qualifications and enrolled at the LSE. There, studying economics, he met my mother, Ruth Strom (CSSC Social Policy and Admin 1951). My father worked on the Entertainments Committee, and she auditioned for a review. From there they would meet for coffee in Wrights Bar and, though her parents weren’t happy with the idea of an orphan for a son-in-law, they married regardless. She was his rock, and they were inseparable until she passed away in 2017, just a few days before their 65th wedding anniversary.

While I was at LSE, I met Ruth, who became my wife. I was not the most popular son-in-law to be. Ruth’s parents were reasonably well off. And here was someone who spoke sort of English, who had no money, who had no family, who had no background.

Starting out

My father had a few jobs in different sectors. At first, he was a journalist with the Glasgow Herald, then an economist, and then finally a banker. This culminated in him becoming the first Managing Director of National Girobank in 1977. Part of the Post Office, Girobank was struggling when he joined it under the Thatcher government. He worked tirelessly to turn it around, despite opposition from the Treasury and the Militant Tendency, saving hundreds of jobs in the town of Bootle at a time when unemployment was devastating Merseyside.

Girobank were bust when I joined it, and they were making £20-30 million when I left it.

He was particularly proud to have introduced the Link system to the UK, enabling people to use their bank cards in all cash machines, not only those of their own bank, something he and Ruth had seen in operation in the USA.

A commitment to integrity

As Deputy Chairman of the Post Office, he had good relationships with sub-post masters/mistresses, as the Girobank brought in a huge amount of their business. After his retirement, he campaigned to save sub-post offices from closure, and he was absolutely horrified by the recent Post Office scandal, which he swore would never have happened under his watch. His commitment to financial and business integrity was non-negotiable. Once when he got home after buying a book, he realised he had been undercharged, so he went racing across town to put things right. He was disappointed to find that no one in the shop was really interested, just surprised that he had bothered to come back. He was rightly extremely proud of the CBE that he was awarded in 1982.

Later years

In Sam’s later years, he lived life to the fullest. He and Ruth travelled extensively - to Zimbabwe, China, the Soviet Union, South America and beyond, with a trip to the Galapagos Islands a particular treasure. His greatest pride, however, was the continuation of his family. When his first great-granddaughter, Saffi, came along, he felt his purpose here on Earth had been fulfilled. As he would often say, if the family hadn’t carried on, Hitler would have won.

However, the impact of the Holocaust never left him. After Ruth’s passing, the anxiety he had carried with him since the 30s was accompanied by depression. However, he battled on and continued to entertain friends at home and thoroughly enjoyed the surprise party we organised for his 100th birthday at the Reform Club, where he had been a member since 1953. One of his proudest moments in recent years was seeing his granddaughter, Iona, graduate from LSE with her Masters in Women, Peace and Security in 2019. He died at home in March 2025 after a short illness. His ashes now rest alongside Ruth’s; united again, but this time forever.

If you'd like to learn more about Sam's life and experiences, watch this interview from 2024.