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 Martins Bank sets sale for Portsmouth
arriving in July 1950, to open a Branch in a rather unusual vessel. This
particular ship negotiates the minefield of merger and sails on under the
flag of Barclays, even changing its address without moving an inch! In the 1970s, rebuilding was still taking
place in the City of Portsmouth due to the extensive bombing of the Second
World War, and also to the need to clear several slum areas. That part of Commercial Road which includes
the Bank was redesignated Guildhall walk, and the number 70 above the door
was replaced with a number 3, as you will see later, in an image from 1981.
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In Service:
6 July 1950 until closure date unknown
Branch Images © Barclays Ref: 0030-2332
and 0033-0462
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A branch,
a bomb, and a lack of “hope”?
We were delighted to be contacted
by Malcolm Willis, who worked at Portmouth Branch in the early 1960s. He
recalls for us how he and his colleagued worked year after year, only a few
feet away from what could have been at any moment a deadly assasin! – Deadly
enough it would seem, to have caused a visit to the City from one of ther
World’s top entertainers, to be cancelled…
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{“I joined Portsmouth Branch in 1962 and worked there until
1966. On the right, as you look at the photo, (above) was
the bombed site of a former cinema, with a sloping floor, later used as a
makeshift carpark. That area, being near the Dockyard, had lots of bombed
sites and it wasn't until years after I left that developers started work
and discovered an unexploded bomb, right next to the wall of the Branch
where we had all been happily working! The centre of the city was closed
off and I recall reading that Bob Hope's show at the Guildhall was
cancelled!”}
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 “Southern and Midland Outposts…”
Despite the Bank expanding
its national network of branches, even during the War Years, Martins Bank
Magazine takes a rather parochial or even pehaps colonial approach to outlets
south of Liverpool and Manchester, by calling them “outposts” and referring to
the staff as “pioneers”. At the end of 1951, within two years of the opening
of Portsmouth Branch, the Magazine visits a number of these “outposts” –
Lilliput (Poole), Bournemouth, Southampton, Cheltenham, Worcester and of
course Portsmouth, where their report begins with a reminder of how important
a target the town had been for the Germans in the Second World War. Six years
on from the end of the conflict, it was still necessary to obtain written
permission to take photographs in certain parts of town…
 There is pride in Portsmouth,
too, and tradition, but it is altogether different from the feeling one experiences
at Southampton. This is the home of the Royal Navy and as such was a top
priority target of the German bombers in the last war. Here, following
sabotage in the Dockyard, security measures are strict and one's business is
of interest to all kinds of people if one goes near the Dock area. We wanted to take the
photograph of the staff in front of Nelson's Victory,
but to do so application in
writing would have had
to be made to the Admiral Superintendent and there wasn't time. Mr. Gilbert
opened the branch in 1950 and he still has the staff who were with him then,
Mr. R. C. Burton, his excellent second man; Mr. G. D. Abrams and Miss E. R.
Jones, New Zealand born but English reared. Also present on the day of our
visit, September 3rd, was Mr. R. W. G. Harvey, of London District Office
Relief Staff.
 Miss Jones was on holiday
but came in for the photograph, by special request. Mr. Gilbert entered the
Bank in 1928 at 68, Lombard Street and his first appointment was as Manager
of Holloway Road branch in 1946. It has been quite a job making out at
Portsmouth but our branch there is now getting nicely on its feet. After taking the photograph of the staff we went down to the Dockyard
and boarded the Victory. It is, indeed, a moving experience to gaze
on the spot where Nelson fell and to stand in the cockpit where he died. One needs to go on board the Victory
after seeing the luxury of the Queen
Mary, and to stand in front of the
little swinging cot, with its replicas of the curtains made by Lady Hamilton,
in which he slept when at sea brings a lump to the throat. What a little man
he was, yet what a big one! No one should miss seeing the Victory. There
is so much more to see than seems to find its way into the guide books: for
example, the deck of the cockpit is painted red to disguise to some extent
the sight of blood as the wounded were laid there for treatment by the
surgeons. The light by which the doctors worked was obtained from dim oil
lanterns, which makes one marvel that they could see at all for such delicate
work.
 A case of surgeons' knives
of Nelson's time make one shudder, and the sight of a cat o' nine tails
reminds one startlingly of the disciplinary methods which were in force in
those days. In
the dockyard museum nearby is the state barge of Charles II which was used to
bring the body of the great Admiral up the Thames and here one may see many
other relics, from the log book describing the action as the Battle of
Trafalgar proceeded, to the various personal letters from Nelson to different
friends. Our branch stands opposite the impressive Guildhall, now, alas, just
an empty shell, though still impressive, and we felt that the Bank's own
ancient tradition harmonised most effectively with the local and national
tradition of Portsmouth, home of seafaring men, home of so much that makes us
proud of our heritage. We felt that our staff were proud of their branch and
proud of the Bank and glad to work for it in Portsmouth.
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All change…
Times have changed, but even though 3 Guildhall Walk – originally 70
Commercial Road – is now a betting shop, there is still a banking service,
courtesy of the Barclays Cash Machine and WiFi booths outside the front
door! This is very much a sign of
the times in the twenty-first century, with the tempation to indulge in
gambling made even easier by access to instant cash on the doorstep. What Martins Bank Portsmouth’s original
Manager Mr Gilbert would have made of it all, we shall never know, but we
can of course guess with a degree of accuracy! In his day a member of the bank’s staff
could be dismissed for gambling, one of a long line of regulations for both
male and female clerks. You can read more about this in our feature A
CAREER WITH MARTINS BANK.
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Image © Barclays Ref: 0030-2332
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Image © Barclays Ref: 0033-0462
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Image ©
Martins Bank Archive Collections
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