The Jobbing System of the London, Stock Exchange: An Oral History

Ref.No.: 10	Playback No.:

Interviewee's surname: Knock    Title: Mr
Interviewee's forenames: Colin
Date of birth: 30 September 1931	Sex: Male

Date(s) of recording: 12 February 1990
Location of interview: Institute of Historical Research
Name of interviewer: Bernard Attard	
Type of recorder: Marantz CP 430
Total no. of tapes: 2        Speed:
Type of tape: TDK AR 50        Noise reduction: DBX
Mono or stereo:stereo         Original or copy: Copy
Additional material: Copyright/Clearance: CMH; no restrictions

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS

Tape 1, Side 1

Personal background; gets job with Prior & Williams; first jobs with the firm; how obtains his blue button; description of Prior & Williams and of the partners; description of the foreign bond market and of the jobbers involved; becomes a blue button in 1950; first impressions of the Stock Exchange; unauthorised dealing as a blue button; the brokers who dealt in foreign bonds; characteristics of the foreign bond market; eg. of Chilean stock; becomes authorised and relationship with the partners.	

Tape 1, side 2 

Relationship with the partners; membership and its consequences; memories of the Stock Exchange; tricks played in the Stock Exchange; jobber with the firm of Spooner; jobber who was terrified of trading; partnership; Prior & Williams merges with White & Cheeseman; retirement of the original partners of White & Cheeseman; development of the firm until taken over by Guinness Mahon; running the firm; the scripophily market; Medwin & Lowy the main opposition; dealing with 'friends'; relations with the opposition; Suez and Cuba crises; 1974 recession; booms.

Tape 2, side 1

Scripophily boom; capital required for running a book; settlement; brokers who dealt in foreign bonds; technicalities of the foreign bond market; relations with jobbers in other markets; the difference between jobbers and brokers; qualities required by a jobber; characters in the Stock Exchange; Stock Exchange of 1970s compared with the Stock Exchange at the beginning of his career; how he remained 'competitive' as the only jobber in the foreign bond market.