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 Although the 1950s sees a push to open Branches in
the Southern half of England and Wales, Martins Bank is still keen to
fill in gaps in its existing Northern Portfolio of Branches; so in December
1953 it arrives in Wilmslow, amid a cluster of its own Branches situated in
nearby towns and villages, completing another part of a network of outlets in
Cheshire. Martins Bank Magazine visits
the new Branch early in 1954 - about three months after it first opens for
business – where the talk seems to focus more upon the Wartime service of the
staff than about the Branch itself…
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In Service: December 1953 until 21 January 1972
Image © Barclays Ref
0030-3221
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 We went to Wilmslow on March
25th. From what we can make out the Bank has been considering the idea of
opening in Wilmslow for nearly forty years, it being about the only important residential and
Manchester dormitory area south of the city in which we lacked direct
representation. However, the onset of two wars with resulting difficulties
played a large part in delaying the decision to open a Branch there and it
was only towards the end of 1953 that the new premises were finally ready.
At first sight the
premises seem to be entirely new but a thick outer wall in the manager's room
is a fragment of the Grove Inn, an ancient coaching house, 150 years old,
which stood upon the site. The name of
the inn was painted high up on the outside wall and was subsequently
obscured with black paint. At times, however, in a certain light it is still
possible to make out the lettering underneath. Another relic of times gone by
is an old well in the yard at the rear of our premises, a well to which the
residents had, and still have, the right of access.
 We were sad to see that the
march of progress has left it with a big flagstone blocking its mouth, the centre
of a dump of builders' rubble. Lt needs a small enclosed garden to set it
off. Mr.
Frank Openshaw entered the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank at Spring Gardens in
1925 and subsequently served at Bury, Elton, Whitefield and Besses o' th'
Barn before joining the R.A.F. in the Second World War. He had an interesting
and unusual military career, being a member of the landing force which
attacked and occupied Madagascar.He subsequently served in East Africa, Kenya
and Tanganyika and quite made us forget our proximity to Manchester by his
entrancing description of the Mau Mau country round Nyeri, with a day
temperature of between 80 and 90 degrees, falling to 50 degrees at night; an
adequate rainfall, scenery like Scotland, and abundance of fishing and shooting,
nature study and wild life. Servants for Ł2 a month, an adequate white social life; in fact, an earthly
paradise (until the Mau Mau came) for a man retiring on a pension of about
Ł800 a year. It quite unsettled us. We have often in the past touched on the background to the Branch
life and we know that it will make the mouths of many of our gardening
colleagues water to learn that Mr. Openshaw's new garden has a natural stream
running through it, and he and Mrs. Openshaw are busy constructing a
combined rock and water garden which should one day be a showpiece.
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Image ©
Barclays Ref 0030-3221
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Image ©
Barclays Ref 0030-3221
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They
also have two commercial-size greenhouses on the large piece o f land
belonging to their new home. Mr. Openshaw received his
first appointment as Clerk-in-Charge at Besses o' th' Barn in 1946, and after
a spell in District Office in 1948 became Manager at Moston in 1949. His second man is Mr. G. A. Townsend, who entered the
Bank in 1934 and whose previous experience includes Brown Street and Portland
Street. During the war he served with the Royal Artillery and was awarded the
Military Cross for his part in the first siege of Tobruk. He is now serving
with the T.A., Anti-Aircraft. The third
member of the staff is Miss Jean Connell, whose previous experience includes
Manchester Trustee Dept., District Office Relief Staff and Cheetham. Under
the careful tuition of Mr. Openshaw and Mr. Townsend she is receiving in
addition to her bank training a first class training in Domestic Science and
can prepare a Lancashire Hot Pot with the best! We were also pleased to meet Mr. W. Barson, from Spring
Gardens, on relief at the Branch just for the day of our visit, a thoughtful
gesture on the part of District Office. We
have often been intrigued by the indefinable ' atmosphere' of a Branch, a
thing to which we are especially sensitive.
 Only towards the close of
our visit to Wilmslow were we given the clue to the undoubtedly happy spirit
prevailing there. It came in the form of an anecdote about the day the Branch
opened. The staff had worked late the previous night getting everything ready,
the cleaner tidying up as the workmen retreated and, everything being spick
and span she was told not to come on the following morning. However, on
arrival the following morning Mr. Openshaw found the whole place covered with
a thick layer of fresh dust, while something had gone wrong with the
telephone and the gas stove wasn't working and a little party to celebrate
the opening was imminent. In the absence of the cleaner, Mr. Openshaw set
about doing the cleaning himself while Mr. Townsend went out to see the
telephone people and Miss Connell went to arrange for the refreshments. In due course the District General Manager arrived and on
learning of the situation took off his coat and gave a hand with the
cleaning. That started Wilmslow on the right
road and that spirit of cheerful service is what is going to make a success
of this Branch.
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