The new Lord Mayor of London, Sir Allan Davis GBE, in conversation with Kasia Giedroyc

To love and to serve
ADD THE poise of a naval commander to the donnishness of a clerical academic, mix with a family doctor's bedside manner and the eagle eye of a seasoned businessman and you have caught a glimpse of the City of London's new Lord Mayor.
Over cups of tea in the splendour of the Mansion House, Sir Allan Davis ran through his record of dedicated service and outstanding personal achievement with energetic efficiency.
"As an accountant, it never occurred to me to provide anything but the best possible service for the client," he said, peering over half-moon spectacles.
"That meant getting to the bottom of the operational side of every business I advised, and becoming deeply and personally involved in its affairs."
As Sir Allan's career developed, so did the formidable list of companies of which he became a director.
Ile is senior partner of the accountancy firm Armitage and Norton and a director of Fiat Autos (UK), Dunkelman and Sons, International Muller UK and, of course, the Catholic herald.
On a professional level, he is a member of the Scottish Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales; he is also an associate of the Institute of Taxation.
"Service with a smile" was the theme of this year's Lord Mayor's Show, a motto which typifies his public service first as a Common Council member and later as an Alderman and a Sheriff for the City.
Allan Davis' service to the City of London began in the late 50s when be became honorary auditor of the Win...lupin! Company of Painters and Stainers. (He retains a prominent postion there as honorary treasurer of its charitable funds.) In 1971 he was elected representative of the Queenhithe Ward Club on the City Common Council and, three years later, chairman of the Port and City of London Health and Social Services Committee.
He was elected Alderman for the Ward of Cripplegate in 1976 and Sheriff for the City in 1982 when Sir Anthony Jolliffe was Lord Mayor.
Among the numerous organisations and charities which benefit from Sir Allan's energy and skills are the St John Ambulance Association of which he is Deputy Treasurer, the Bridewell Hospital and the Royal Shakespeare Company Trust.
He is also Governor of the Cripplegate Foundation and of the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School in Kensington, where he was educated himself.
Part of the secret of the Lord Mayor's achievement lies, by his own admission, in his upbringing and education. "1 was the eldest of a family of five so I always had a fair share of responsibility. There were strict rules at Cardinal Vaughan. This, combined with a few years' training in the navy gave me an in-built discipline and a capacity for sheer hard work."
Allan Davis has indeed lived out his old school motto Atnere et Servlre ("To Love and To Serve") to the letter. He sees this not just as an important personal code but with relevance for the country as a whole.
Do Sir Allan's many public activities and responsibilities have any common principle? "My wife would say it is simply that I can never say no!"
Appropriately enough, Allan Davis met his wife at a charity fete, he a dashing naval officer and she a secretary in the Bank of England.
Both Devises consider that charity means caring on a personal level; they will spend Christmas morning at St Bartholomew's Hospital visiting the sick and joining in carols.
Any money raised during Sir Allan Davis' Mayoral year will go to the Lord Mayor's Trust for Charities. He sees this as "tan enabling fund which can he used for charitable projects to encourage them to work — way of making a larger impact on smaller units". Some of the fund will go to the Foundation for Age Research and this interest in the elderly is reflected in the Lord Mayor's position on the management committee of the London Homes for the Elderly.
Sir Allan admits that he does not have much time for hobbies. "I love travelling, especially to new places. I play a bit of Bridge, watch cricket occasionally and read when I have the opportunity. I'm in the middle of In the Steps of St Paul."