Peter Floud
British civil servant (1911–1960)
Peter Castle Floud CBE, (1 June 1911 – 22 January 1960) was a British civil servant and official of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, administering missions in Egypt, Iran, and Albania. He was also an authority on William Morris.
Early life
The elder son of Sir Francis Floud KCB KCSI, KCMG, DCL, he was born together with twin sister Molly (m. du Sautoy) on 1 June 1911. Peter Floud was the brother of the politician Bernard Floud. Both brothers were educated at Gresham's School, Holt, and Wadham College, Oxford.
After graduating in 1931, Peter passed the Civil Service Examination for admission to the Civil Service. He was admitted to the London School of Economics for research in the history of the industrial arts in Britain with special reference to the work of William Morris.
In 1938 he married the sociologist Jean MacDonald (CBE) with whom he had three children, Andrew, Frances and Esther.
Career outline
1935–1939: Assistant-Keeper, Victoria and Albert Museum
1939–1944: Served for the London Regional Headquarters of the Ministry of Home Security
1944–1946: Administrator of UNRRA Balkan and Middle East Missions in Cairo and Teheran
1946/1947: Chief of UNRRA Mission to Albania
1947–1960: Keeper, Department of Circulation at the Victoria and Albert Museum
1950–1953: Chairman of the Children's Section of the International Council of Museums
1955: Made a Governor of the National Museum of Wales
The Department of Circulation, Victoria and Albert Museum
More information on the Circulation Department
Floud joined the staff of the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1935 as an Assistant Keeper in the Department of Circulation, which sent touring exhibitions around the UK. He broke off his work with the museum on the outbreak of war but returned following the completion of his secondment to the Department of Home Security and was made Keeper of the Department of Circulation.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Peter Floud” as british civil servant (1911–1960). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as british civil servant (1911–1960). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 14, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q7174017. VIAF identifies the subject as 283006937. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1911, 1960, 1931 and 1938.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Peter Floud”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Peter Floud primary sources, Peter Floud archive and Peter research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Peter Floud”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Peter Floud” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.