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 The South Western District of Martins Bank is the youngest
of the nine Districts of the Bank. It
opens officially for business in 1960, and from then until the 1969 merger
with Barclays, it doesn’t stop adding some of newest and most up to date
Branches in the Bank’s portfolio.
Branches are opened at Poole and Keynsham - within a month of each
other - in March and April 1965, and Martins Bank Magazine makes great play
of the Bank’s “family” reputation by producing articles about each new branch
linked by the theme of the card game “Happy Families”. It is interesting to note within the
article below, that in 1965, Poole becomes one of a staggering 237 branch
banks between Christchurch and Dorset.
We wonder if the number today would even reach double figures! Whilst Keynsham makes it to celebrate its
fiftieth brithday in 2015, Poole misses out, having been closed by Barclays
in 2012…
 poole
branch opened
in March at 10 Parkstone Road to reinforce our representation in the 'Bournemouth
Complex' which, from Christchurch to Poole, contains 237 branch banks. Nobody
in the South West, least of all our Mr Palk, is worried about that. Poole prides itself on its independence
as a borough and in having an almost land-locked estuary—Poole Harbour—second only in the world as a natural harbour to
Sydney. Its 28 square miles with double tides are a yachtsman's mecca with
beautiful surroundings in which are some of the finest residences on the
south coast; from a banking viewpoint Poole has other attractions among which
are light industry, ship building, marine engineering, pottery and timber.
 It is natural that maritime
interests figure largely in Poole's history. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth
I the quay was only 192 feet long, but from here, 600 years ago, four ships
sailed for the siege of Calais. Poole vessels harried the Spanish Armada and
Poole men were some of the earliest to settle in Newfoundland. It seems appropriate that the
Manager of our new branch should have come to Poole via a year's special tour
of duty in West Africa and while there he met a girl from Wallasey in
government service whom he subsequently married. Mr Palk's branch is a typical example of
imaginative conversion of what was a large boarding house.
Even though the photograph,
taken on a dull rainy day, hardly does it justice, it is refreshing, brightly
decorated, roomy, and planned with expansion of business in mind. Assisting Mr Palk
are Mr M. G. W. French, most of whose banking life has been spent at
Cheltenham branch, and Mr J. W. Bufton who entered the Bank at Bournemouth
and worked in London branches and at Lilliput before coming to Poole. Miss M. D. Taylor joined the Exeter staff in 1963 with
previous banking experience both in this country and in Canada, while Miss C.
J. Brown is a local girl who joined the Bournemouth staff last year. Those who visit Poole will be met with a smile, and no
caller will ever be given the impression that he is interrupting somebody's
work; rather will he feel glad he has called. Of course, it should be
so. In this District it is infallibly
so…
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