Bank of England 10s note longer and narrower, and were the first ten-shilling notes to feature a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the front. The reverse design incorporated the logo of the Bank of England. In the late 1960s it was decided that future banknotes should feature a British historical figure on the reverse. The first such note was the series D £20 note, first issued in 1970, featuring William Shakespeare. A design for a ten-shilling note featuring Walter Raleigh on the reverse was approved in 1964 but was never issued. Instead, in 1969, as part of the process of decimalisation, a new fifty
Bank of England note issues tender in 1945. The £50 denomination did not reappear until 20 March 1981 when a Series D design was issued featuring the architect Christopher Wren and the plan of St Paul's Cathedral on the reverse of this large note. In 1994 this denomination was the last of the first Series E issue, when the Bank commemorated its 300th birthday by featuring its first governor, Sir John Houblon, on the reverse. The old Series D £50 note was withdrawn from circulation on 20 September 1996. In May 2009, the Bank of England announced a new design in Series F, featuring James