Bill Fiske , Baron Fiske William Geoffrey Fiske , Baron Fiske Kt . , CBE ( 3 July 1905 - 13 January 1975 ) , commonly known as Bill Fiske , was the first Leader of the Greater London Council and oversaw the decimalisation of the Pound Sterling as Chairman of the Decimal Currency Board . Fiske came from a middle - class family with radical sympathies who often discussed politics , with his maternal grandfather a particularly strong influence . However , in his early life Fiske ' s main interest was in the art of ancient Greece . He was sent to Berkhamsted Collegiate School , and on leaving , went to work for the Bank of England . After twelve years at the Bank , he took advantage of its generous pension scheme and left in 1935 , and began to work as a Company Secretary . When World War II broke out , Fiske was drafted as a specialist into the Civil Service where he founded the Society of Civil Servants . The war helped to energise him in politics generally and he unsuccessfully fought the constituency of Hampstead for the Labour Party in the general election of 1945 . The next year saw Fiske elected to the London County Council for Hammersmith South , a seat previously held by the Conservatives . He managed to hold his seat and make it safe , while gradually becoming so enthusiastic about council work that by 1955 it had eclipsed his previous ambitions to be elected to Parliament . ( On becoming Leader of the GLC , he observed that " Here you see far more of the results of what you do than you can across the river . " ) In the 1956 New Year ' s Honours hes was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire . Fiske became popular among his colleagues in the Labour Group and in 1960 he was elected as Chief Whip , deposing Freda Corbet who had held the job for 12 years and was a close ally of the Labour leader Isaac Hayward . He was less popular among individual members of the Labour Party , and when the LCC was abolished , he was selected as a candidate for the new Greater London Council in Havering , which was marginal . He was however selected as the Leader of the Labour Group for the GLC elections . He fought the 1964 elections on traditional lines , campaigning on the record of the LCC in building new Council housing which was regarded as good quality at the time . Despite predictions that the wider boundaries of the GLC would hand power to the Conservatives , Fiske was returned in his own seat and Labour won a comfortable victory . When Labour won the general election later that year , Fiske was given a knighthood . In power Fiske ' s administration treated the GLC as a version of the LCC with wider boundaries , which ignored the increased power of the new London Boroughs . Attempts to press GLC policy on unwilling boroughs were made but could now be resisted . The GLC also had to cope with increasing road transport problems because of the increase in the number of cars . Fiske proposed to increase charges for parking in inner London , with residents ' parking permits required for those living in the zone , stating that he hoped more people would leave their car and use public transport . The scheme proved unpopular among car drivers . Fiske carried on a policy of subsidies for the arts , and it was under his leadership that the decision was made to build the Royal National Theatre on the South Bank site . He himself served as a member of the board . However , he was unable to hold council house rents down as far as he wished . The 1967 elections took place when the Labour Government of Harold Wilson had become unpopular and it was accepted that Fiske would find it difficult to hold on . However , the result was shattering . Not merely did Fiske lose his own seat , the Labour Party was reduced to only 20 members . Fiske accepted immediately that his career in local politics was over . He received a life peerage with the title Baron Fiske , of Brent in Greater London as a consolation . He had already been handed a lifeline by Chancellor of the Exchequer James Callaghan who , thinking of his Bank of England experience , appointed him Chairman of the Decimal Currency Board on 12 December 1966 . Fiske was charged with arranging the changeover from a Pound consisting of 20 shillings , with each shilling containing 12 pence , to a decimalised Pound of 100 new pence . Fiske led an ambitious public campaign in the years leading up to the switch , trying to make sure every business and every consumer was aware of the implications . Public information film s were made and shown on television and leaflets were distributed by the Government . The date for the switch , which became known as ' Decimal day ' or ' D day ' , was set for Monday 15 February 1971 but the new decimal coins ( some of which were the same value as existing pre - decimal coinage ) were introduced gradually . In the event , despite some predictions of disaster , D day went off smoothly , with the main concerns being over retailers using the opportunity to round prices up and thereby boost inflation . The Decimal Currency Board was wound up at the end of 1971 , and Fiske then went into retirement . He used his seat in the Lords to campaign in support of council tenants , statutory control of estate agents , and for better treatment of diabetes .