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“not taken lightly”… 23 February 1968 –
Martins Bank issues a note to its staff and shareholders that is noteable for
its frankness and honesty. The Bank simply cannot expand quickly enough to
continue competing in a quickly changing World.
“The
decision, which this bank finally took earlier this year, to seek bids for
its shares, was not taken lightly or without deep prior consideration. From
the point of view not least of the Board and the senior management the
decision was in some ways a sad one. It was not necessitated by any
short-term considerations but arose solely from the Board’s appreciation that
in the long-term the national interest and the interests of customers, staff
and share-holders alike would be best served were the Bank to become part of
a larger financial unit. In such circumstances the Board felt it only right
to set in motion the machinery which it did with a view to achieving the most
satisfactory possible merger at a time when the Bank's position and resources
still made it attractive to other of the larger British banks. Before taking
steps to achieve this object the Bank consulted the Governor of the Bank of
England who concurred with the procedure which we proposed to adopt.
Broadly,
the considerations which influenced us arose out of the increasing need for
greater scale in financial units. Larger funds, a wider geographical spread,
nationally and internationally, and the undertaking of a greater range of
specialist activities are increasingly important in modem banking. While
Martins has a valuable contribution to make to a larger financial unit, it is
probably not large enough, standing by itself, to compete effectively in the
long run nor could it achieve the necessary size by direct expansion within
its own available resources”… |
Image and Text © Barclays
Ref 0482/0436
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From this point on,
things will move quickly – a proposed merger of Barclays, Lloyds and Martins
Banks, whilst thoroughly researched and feasible, is turned down by the
Monopolies Commission, who prefer a merger on a smaller scale. Eight months
after announcing its decision to seek a buyer, Martins reaches the first
important date in its irrevocable marriage to Barclays, 1 November 1968. This
leaves just thirteen months in which both Banks will have to compare Branches
and services, so that the best of each can be retained for the combined
business. There is also the task of informing the customers of both Banks not
only about the merger itself, but also of the perceived benefits… |
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Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll
begin…
Moral:
Marriage is to politics what the
lever is to engineering. The state is not founded
upon single individuals But upon couples and groups. Novalis
Text and Images ©
Barclays 1968
Special Note from the Editor
To many, a
fundamental promise – that the name of Martins Bank will live on – is broken even
before the act of Parliament that brings about the new Bank. The token
gesture “Martins Branch” which appears on some Barclays stationery until the
early 1980s is also not enough to calm the genuine anger and hurt. As an
observer who never worked for Martins, and given that time is usually such a
great healer, I am genuinely shocked and saddened by the comments we
regularly receive on this matter, and I completely understand and sympathise
with those who thought one thing, but witnessed another. With a brand as successful as
Barclays, there is never any real doubt that the name of Martins will have to disappear, and the
campaign to wipe Martins from the memory is, in its own way, as sophisticated
as any seen today when major companies are brought together. Thanks however
to the “Martins Branch” logo, the changes do at least take until 1982 to
fully complete, and the legacy of Martins’ own “Branch Accounting” computer
program remains with Barclays until at least 2005. The articles in this
section look at the various parts of the process of subtle change that go
into what Barclays refers to as “The end of the beginning”, but which many,
from the outset, see as the exact opposite… Jonathan, May 2013 1967/8 – A Merger is announced…
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Talks between the two
banks about amalgamation of their overseas business have proceeded extremely
well, says Mr. A. R. W. Wetherell, Chief Overseas Manager of Martins. Discussions
have been carried on in a cordial and co-operative atmosphere. Although it is
too early to state precisely the changes that will come about, the prospects
for working together in fields wider than Martins has known before are
'intriguing and exciting', Mr. Wetherell said. |
The two banks have
formed a Coordinating Team, whose job will be to work out a time-scale for
the coordination of the businesses. The team will work within policy lines
set down by the General Managements of the banks. Martins'
representative in the team is Mr. A. K. Bromley (Assistant General Manager).
His colleagues from Barclays will be Mr. R. J. H. Gillman (Secretary) who
will be the team's chairman, and Mr. K. A. Ebbs and Mr. J. G. Quinton
(Assistant General Managers) |
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He continued in the Trustee Department after war service, first
at Birmingham and then at Bournemouth, returning in 1954 to the City Trustee
Office as Manager. Two years later he became Deputy Manager of all Barclays'
Trustee Departments.
He left the Trustee side in 1957 to be Deputy Chief
Accountant from which post he became an Assistant General Manager in 1960 and
a General Manager the following year. He has been senior General Manager
since 1966. Mr. Wilde is married and lives
at Penshurst, Kent
... music, drama For those whose
talents are singing, acting or playing a musical instrument there are
Barclays Bank's Dramatic, Musical and Operatic Societies, all of which stage
regular productions in London. This November the talents of these three
bodies will combine to present a Festival Entertainment to celebrate the opening
of the bank's sumptuous new Great Hall in the 54 Lombard Street Head Office.
The occasion will also be taken to hold the sixth Triennial Art Exhibition
and a photographic show.
Another body which Barclays Bank staff are welcome
to join is the Barclays D.C.O. Horticultural Society which presents regular
exhibitions at Goodenough House in the City of London.
Building projects shelved The bank's building
programme is one sphere greatly affected by the merger situation. Work
already well advanced is going ahead but several projects have been shelved.
No action is being taken over sites acquired for new premises until a policy
for the new group is decided.
Even at one branch virtually completed the merger
has raised a complication—whether or not to
drill holes in an expensive piece of granite to take the name 'Martins Bank'.
The solution has been to fix the letters in a less permanent way. Adapting branch systems Among the staff there
are many who feel they will be at a disadvantage until both banks are
operating common systems. Already a committee has been set up 'to consider
branch book-keeping systems and other procedures' and much information about
their systems has been exchanged by the two banks. The widespread attitude of the staff to the
merger is: 'If there is to be change, the sooner it comes the better’… Customers' fear Foremost in
customers' minds has been the fear that the engulfing of Martins by the huge
Barclays' organisation will mean an end to the personal service they value
so much. Managers have been quick to reassure their customers that the same
individual service, backed by a local District Office, will remain. In fact,
the wider facilities of the merged bank will mean an enhanced service.Concern
or sorrow at the disappearance of a small, independent bank has been
expressed by many customers. At the same time they accept that a merger was
inevitable and that their feelings are based mainly on sentiment. While
formal talks between the banks have continued at General Management and
department-head levels, some managers and District officials have met their
Barclays counterparts informally. Local directors of Barclays Bank have
called at several of our branches to make themselves known.
1968 - An editorial Change?
In Winter 1967 the staff magazine logo is, as it has been for much of the sixties, simple, clean and still indicative of the independence of the bank. The next edition of the magazine will bring complete change, along with a more subliminal conversion of the staff themselves.
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1968 - Two sides to the story…
Bank people are secretive. They need to be: secrecy is part of a
bank's stock-in-trade. Yet how easy it is for this banking virtue to creep so
unfortunately and so unnecessarily into the sphere of staff communications.
Never was it more important, now that the Bank is
to merge its interests with those of Barclays, that there should be frank and
open exchanges of information at all levels within this Bank. Never was it
more vital that the proverbial grapevine should not be allowed by needless
rumour and counter-rumour to assume the proportions of an oak tree. For these reasons we welcome wholeheartedly the Bank's decision
to introduce and circulate to every member of the staff the news-sheet, Merger News. By appearing at frequent
intervals Merger News will go
some way towards lifting the veil of needless secrecy and keeping the staff— and their
families—informed. The complete removal of that veil remains a task calling
for conscious effort by every one of us.
Committees are sitting, pilot schemes are afoot, systems are
under investigation. All reflect the loss, after 137 years, of the
independence of Martins Bank. As a
mother weeps at her daughter's wedding it would be easy to shed tears at the
events of recent months—until we remember not to confuse sentiment with sentimentality.
After all, Martins is itself an amalgam of a dozen or more smaller banks and
what we think of as the personality of Martins Bank is nothing more than a
fusion of the character of each of those acquired banks.
But can we speak of a bank having character or personality? Is
it not the generations of bank people, from clerks to general managers, who,
through a singleness of purpose, have impressed a collective personality on
their bank? And if, through their staffs, those constituent banks of Martins
have added something to the combined bank, is this not the time to think what
we, the staff of Martins, are capable of contributing to the Barclays Group? Any means of getting to
know our colleagues in Barclays is welcome and Barclays Bulletin, the quarterly newspaper of the Barclays
Group which is now being sent to every member of our staff, is one such
medium. As, however, it will be a little while before integration affects the
majority of our staff Martins Bank
Magazine will continue to appear throughout 1969.
Winter 1968 –
Barclays Bulletin…
News of Barclays’ newest wholly owned subsidiary is communicated to the
staff of both Banks shortly after the key date of 1 November 1968 – this is
when Martins Shares become officially those of Barclays. “Barclays Bulletin”
provides a detailed look at what should be happening next…
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MARTINS Bank is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barclays Bank
and new Barclays' shares and Loan Stock have been allotted to the former
shareholders of Martins under the terms of the Scheme of Arrangement for the
merger of the two companies. Martins will continue to trade in its own name
for the time being as a member of the Barclays Group, but in order to obtain
full benefit from the merger it is planned that the two banks should become
one by 1970. |
SEE ALSO |
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This will be achieved
by means of a private Act of Parliament, which it is hoped will receive Assent
about the middle of next year, and become effective on or before January 1,
1970. Meanwhile several measures are being taken to help pave the way to
complete integration. They include: The appointment of
two Directors from each bank to serve also on the Board of the other. Mr. W.
G. Bryan and Mr. A. L. Grant will serve on the Board of Martins, and Sir
Cuthbert Clegg and Mr. J. H. Keswick join the Board of Barclays. A Co-ordinating Team
has been formed consisting of three Barclays representatives, Mr. R. J. H.
Gillman (Secretary) and Mr. K. A. Ebbs and Mr. J. G. Quinton (Assistant
General Managers), and Mr. A. K. Bromley (Assistant General Manager of
Martins). Working parties have
been set up to harmonise the systems, procedures and stationery of the two
banks, and alterations will be introduced gradually. Some Head Office
Departments are to be brought together almost immediately. It is planned to
conduct the executor, trustee, income tax, new issue, registration and unit
trust work of the combined banks through Martins Bank Trust Company Ltd.,
which will be renamed. Control of some Martins branches will shortly be transferred to
Barclays. A pilot scheme will begin this month in some Barclays Districts
where only a few Martins branches are situated. It is hoped that the
experience gained will enable the scheme to be extended throughout the rest
of the country during 1969. Eventually the present Barclays Local Head Offices, with one
addition, will control all the branches of the combined bank. A new Local Head Office will be established in Preston, controlling
all branches in Cumberland (with the exception of Martins, Alston),
Westmorland and Lancashire north of a line drawn south of Lytham, Leyland,
Chorley, Darwen, Accrington and Burnley, and Martins, Bentham. The Welsh branches at
present under Liverpool Local Head Office will be transferred to the control
of Shrewsbury L.H.O. The situation in London is still being considered and there
may be minor boundary changes elsewhere, but the policy is that Martins
branches will come under the Local Head Office in whose District they are
situated. Chairman's
Message Mr. John Thomson,
Chairman of Barclays Bank Limited, stresses that the objective is the
creation of a single, integrated organisation with equal opportunities for
all. Mr. Thomson writes:
“The merger of Martins with Barclays is an event of
great significance in our histories and I extend a warm welcome to Martins
Bank and every member of its staff on behalf of the Barclays Group. At the
same time I would like to try and answer some of the questions which must be
uppermost in your minds. This has been the
‘year of the merger’ for British industry, and our own merger is part of the
general drive for increased efficiency through the creation of larger, more
economic units. At the same time we are, in
order to reap the full benefits of the merger, taking a fresh look at our
organisational structure. “Some training in
different systems and routines will be necessary, but I am confident that
this will not present a serious problem and that we can move smoothly towards
integrated systems common to all staff. 'Obviously some of you will be
wondering whether you will have to move as a result of the merger. So far as
branch staff are concerned, there will be little or no change in the existing
standards of mobility. In other cases moves will be kept to a minimum, and
adequate notice will be given to those concerned. Finally,
a word about promotion prospects. No member of the staff of either bank need
feel that his or her abilities will be neglected. The two Staff Departments
are now working in close liaison in order to ensure that the staff of both
banks are henceforth treated as one for the purpose of promotion. There will
therefore be equal opportunities for all, with a unified structure for
recruitment and training. A merger
inevitably means change -but there can be no progress without it. Fortunately
both Barclays and Martins have similar traditions, structures and
philosophies and I am confident that with patience, understanding and
co-operation, the adjustments can be achieved smoothly and painlessly”.
June 1969 - On the
books at last…
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In Barclays’ half
year accounts for 1969, its subsidiaries, including Martins are listed under
assets. Martins is worth a cool £56.5million, more than fifteen times the value
of The British Linen Bank, and more than twice that of Barclays’ successful
Dominion and Colonial arm. Acquiring Martins strengthens Barclays’ position
in England and Wales, control of the British Linen Bank gives Barclays a good
foothold in Scotland. Barclays also has ties with The Bank of Scotland and
the Royal Bank of Scotland (formerley Williams and Glyn Bank) which will last
well into the 1980s.
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1969 – Spread Eagle - End of the beginning?
Just as Martins Bank Magazine itself
caters for the staff of LEWIS’S BANK, following Martins’ acquisition of their branches, Barclays’
‘Spread Eagle’ magazine must now begin to welcome colleagues from Martins.
The difference of course, is that Lewis’s Bank, whilst under the ownership of
Martins always kept its name and style of operations. It is no exaggeration
to state that Martins Bank Magazine has been cherished by uge numbers of the
Staff of martins Bank. Born out of the Wartime Lifeline Newsletters, nothing
shows better the true family spitir of the Bank. Spread Eagle is a similar
publication to Martins Bank Magazine, in that it too makes the most of
everyday stories about the staff of the Bank, and keeps everyone informed as
the world of banking changes. Sport, amateur dramatics, fashion, the usual
stuff… The Staff of Martins are introduced to Spread Eagle in a feature in
the final full edition of their own Magazine in the Autumn of 1969. By this
time, much of Martins has been absorbed into Barclays, all that remains is
for the 700+ Branches and Subbranches of the Bank to be officially handed
over on the Appointed Date, 15 December 1969. As the merger itself
progresses, Barclays prints what is meant to be a reassuring customer
leaflet, the slightly patronising text proclaiming that the situation is in
fact simply nothing worse than “the end of the beginning”. What is abundantly
obvious from the leaflet, as shown below, is that against the wishes of
Martins’ Staff and customers, the name of the new bank will be Barclays
and ONLY Barclays, and this is therefore, the beginning of the end… |
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BARCLAYS BANK MARTINS BANK
June 1969 - Game, set, and match.
Amongst the treasures inherited by
Barclays, is the sub branch on the Centre Court at the All England Tennis
Club, Wimbledon, SW19. Martins advertises this special service in the
official Wimbledon souvenir programme each year. The following examples show
the change from 1961 to 1969 when the merger becomes part of the message…
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December 1969 - It’s a sign of the times…
Martins’ glory days are fantastic. From
making the outrageously bold statement of building a palatial head office
completely away from London in the 1930s, to opening dozens of modern new
branches finished to exacting standards and built from the most expensive
materials in the 1960s, Martins has made a big splash in the ocean of
banking, and all this in the days when banks, in return for responsible
lending and financial management, are rewarded with the trust and loyalty of
their customers.
This has been a time when Martins has opened many new branches, and shown that it is in touch – not only with the youth of the day, but also with individual areas of the country and their banking needs. Its regional structure, based on local decision making and Managers who know their towns, villages and people inside out, are what we are crying out for in the twenty-first century.
Despite the views of many that the
merger is nothing more than a takeover, Martins does actually have some
influence over the future of the combined business. In total Barclays will
acquire just shy of 700 Branches and sub Branches. The business of Martins
Bank Trust Company Limited is also a highly desirable prize, and it remains
the view of many who worked for the Company, that it was Martins who
effectively took over Barclays’ interests in the same field. Looking at the
overall network of Branches and Departments, and in the North of England in
particular, Barclays will gain dozens of Branches that are newer, larger or
better placed than existing Barclays offices. A number of Barclays outlets
will actually close in favour of their Martins counterpart being used. These
are identified in a Merger Report issued on 15 December 1969 – the date by
which the two Banks’ businesses must by law be brought fully together. We
list here the details from that report, of the Barclays Branches that had to
fall on their sword, either by closing altogether or by being downgraded to
sub-Branch status…
A good innings at Old trafford?
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1.
Proud and beautifully appointed: The Lancashire and
Yorkshire Bank Branch at old Trafford, seen here in 1922, with six years
still to go before it merges with Martins. 2.
In the 1960s we can only guess which famous sporting types
might be popping in to cash a cheque before taking part in a cricket or
football match. 3.
Finally, in 2006 the same branch is seen empty and frozen
in time. A reminder of better times, when famous sporting types popped in to
Old Trafford to cash a cheque. |
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1970 to 1982 - Memorabilia…
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Martins green is replaced by Barclays blue
in what is almost the last giveaway to feature the Martins grasshopper. The
Barclaytrust matchbook is given away to customers of Barclays Bank Trust
Company, which can now boast the expertise, products and profitability of
Martins Bank’s Trustee and Income Tax offices and Martins Unicorn, the jewel
in the crown of our Bank’s services to investors. This piece of treasure will
pay the bills at Barclays for decades to come, and undergo several revamps
and name changes before becoming the Barclays Wealth we know today…
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All good things must come to an end…
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The doorway at King’s Lynn is slightly recessed. Consequently the doors have remained sheltered from the elements. |
The doors might be
shut forever, but the once mighty prescence of Martins is still felt all over
England and Wales. At 103a High street KING’S LYNN, (2008 left) the Martins building is now a
chic fashion outlet. Ironically, having closed its branch there, Barclays
went on to swallow up The Woolwich and acquired premises only four doors down
at No 107! At Barclays the
Headrow, Leeds (2007),and Heaton Chapel (2000) below, the unmistakable coat
of arms reminds everyone that this too is the home of the bank that went to extremes
to be helpful…
Pictures © : www.yorkshiredailyphoto.com
and Michael Alderson |
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Farewell to Martins Bank Magazine…
The final edition of Martins Bank
Magazine is the Winter 1969 commemorative issue, which looks back at
hightlights of the twenty four years – and therefore 96 issues – of the
magazine’s existence. The fawewell issue begins with this letter from
Martins’ Chief General Manager…
The
song has ended, but the melody lingers on…
The important of Martins Bank’s
Operatic and Dramatic Society, and its various regional offshoots, is
recognised by Barclays, and under the auspices of Barclays Bank Society of
the Arts, “Martins Operatic Society” ( minus the word “BANK”) continues to
stage lavish and sophisticated productions beyond the merger, until its own
eventual demise in 1980.
Goodbye
everybody… x
BOARDROOM
BLUES The last
ever meeting of Martins Board, 9 December 1969…
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