1912 at ? (S)
Edinburgh Gazette reports him as transfer of second division clerk from the Inland Revenue
1921 at London (S)
awarded CVO in king's birthday honours
from 1922 at London (S)
Sir Ralph Endersby Harwood, K.C.B., K.C.V.O., C.B.E. (1883-1952) served as Deputy Treasurer to His Majesty, King George V from
1922 until the King's death in 1936. Sir Ralph continued as Deputy Treasurer to King Edward VIII and briefly served King George VI.
Sir Ralph was honored not only by King George V, but also by the monarchs of Romania, Italy, Egypt, Iraq, Ethiopia, Afghanistan,
and the President of the Republic of France. In retirement Harwood bought neglected but historically important Tudor buildings and
restored them. Among his projects were Southfields in Essex, built in 1500, and Seckford Hall in Suffolk, built in 1530.
1924 at London (S)
awarded CB in king's birthday honours
1931 at Otford, Kent (S)
Broughton manor:
The property changed hands again in 1931, passing to Sir Ralph Harwood, K.C.V.O., Assistant Treasurer to H.W. King George V.
Among other changes he installed electric light and central heating. It is recalled that when the stone floors were disturbed in the
process of this work, the subsoil was found to be bone-dry; a remarkable tribute to the builders of the original foundations between
two waterways. He closed the entrance from the Otford-Twitton road (the Pilgrim's Way) and converted the door in the south-east
corner into the main entrance. He removed the old box trees which formerly guarded this door and erected a porch in keeping with
the house.
Sir Ralph Harwood was never able to take up residence as his duties kept him at Buckingham Palace, and in June 1933 he sold
the Manor House together with the garden and willow field to the present owner, Mr. G.F. Rogers, J.P.
1934 at London (S)
awarded Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the new year's honours
between 1935 and 1937 at London (FS)
Financial Secretary to the King:
Report in Malaya Straits Times
ROYAL HOUSEHOLD London, Saturday The King has appointed Lord Wigram. who has been His Majesty's private secretary
since 19J1, to fill the amalgamated offices of Private Secretary to the King and Keeper of His Majesty's Privy Purse. Sir Ralph
Endersby Harwood. former Deputy Treasurer, is appointed Financial Secretary to the King.
1936 at London (S)
In London Gazette (record of funeral of George V?): Financial Secretary Sir Ralph Harwood K.C.B., K.C.V.O., C.B.E
1937 at London (S)
retired:
"Dr. Mr. Tubbs Many thanks for your letter. I am so sorry that after all Sir Ralph is really leaving us. How I wish he could have
remained, he has always been a real friend to us, and as far as the staff is concerned he will never be replaced, he always took
such pains to understand us, and would rather do a good turn than a bad one. I well remember when he came to B. P. [Buckingham
Palace] with the "Hatchet"- how we all feared him, but he saved the money without taking a penny from the staff, he is really a very
fine gentleman and I am anxious to subscribe to his present..."
1940 at Woodbridge, Suffolk (S)
Seckford Hall:
Sir Ralph Harwood, former financial secretary to King George V, instigated much of this change. It was Sir Ralph who purchased the
hall from a demolition contractor in May 1940, only to see the building commandeered by troops six weeks later. He regained the
property in October 1945 and, early in 1946, began restoring and modernising the neglected property. Much of what he did wouldn't
win approval at the local planning department today.
Sir Ralph had made restoring Tudor houses something of a hobby in the 1930s, amassing a large quantity of old oak. Much of this
stockpile was used to revamp the Great Hall at Seckford. Panelling, doors, carved beams and, most radically of all, ceilings were
used to redefine the space. The cavernous room that once rose up through the building's two storeys was divided to create two
floors comprising various different spaces. An entrance hall and what is now the hotel reception were both born of this reshuffle,
partitioned off from the Great Hall that survives on a smaller scale. The ceiling, with its sumptuously carved beams and joists, was
imported from Beau Desert Manor in Staffordshire. On first glance it seems to fit perfectly in the hall space; only closer inspection
reveals it to be an impostor. The windows are a giveaway, disappearing as they do into the ceiling.
Renovation in 1946 also blessed the Great Hall with a medieval rederos, removed from a church and employed here as a means
of separating the entrance hall from the main room. The five arches, complete with intricate latticing, makes for a unique partition.