Reg Ward

Albert Joseph Ward (5 October 1927 – 6 January 2011), known as Reg Ward, was the first Chief Executive of the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC), serving in that capacity from 1981 to 1988.

The son of a miner, Reg Ward was born on 5 October 1927 in the Forest of Dean and educated at East Dean Grammar School, Cinderford, Gloucestershire.

While lecturing on radar equipment as a young RAF pilot, he was encouraged to apply for University – the first in his family to do so.

He went to Manchester University to study Medieval History and then Fine Art and Architecture. However he rejected the possibility of becoming an academic, preferring instead to join the Inland Revenue as a Tax Inspector.

In his mid-30's Ward had a third change of career, leaving the Revenue for a job as administrator of the architecture department at Lancashire County Council.

A series of local government appointments followed, culminating in him becoming Chief Executive of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and later of Hereford and Worcester County Council.

Ward was a surprise choice by Secretary of State Michael Heseltine to lead the new Docklands body on its inception in 1980 and for 9 months was the only member of staff during its "shadow period" of operation. However this long period gave him the opportunity to walk extensively through Docklands, drawing pictures of the old warehouses and imagining what possible redevelopments could take place. A story told by ex LDDC staffers was that his first work for the organisation took place using a bucket for a seat and an old upturned tea chest as a desk.

Docklands had been the subject of many redevelopment frameworks and plans over the years, none of which had come to fruition. Ward's genius was to be open to new ideas, and to seize opportunities which came along, rather than to create reports and paperwork. Ward said if he had created some grand plan..."we would still be debating and nothing would have got built. Instead, we have gone for an organic, market-driven approach, responding pragmatically to each situation."

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