John Page, who died in February aged 81, was the last chief cashier of the Bank of England who, like all his predecessors since its foundation in 1694, was primus inter pares of the senior officials of the Bank, reporting directly to the governor. He joined the Bank in 1946 after war service in the RAF and with a degree from King's College, Cambridge, and became chief cashier in 1970, effectively becoming the Bank's chief executive with extensive managerial and operational responsibilities. The