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SPRING/SUMMER 2017 |
AUTUMN/WINTER 2017 |
SPRING/SUMMER 2018 |
AUTUMN/WINTER 2018 |
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closures, we really appreciate the support of our ever
increasing band of loyal visitors and contributors.Don’t forget our sister
site - Lewis’s Bank Archive - which tells the story of Britain’s department
store bank for the nine years that it was a subsidiary of Martins Bank. Click
HERE to visit the Lewis’s Bank Archive
web site (opens in a new window). Our
most recent news stories are shown below, and you can catch up with some
previous stories in-depth, by downloading our half-yearly Newsletters (see
above).
Cut and thrust… Our Autumn winter
Newsletter has been produced a month or so earlier than usual, as the Spring
Summer 2019 edition will be issued in JANUARY. This is because it will focus
on a story that sees TWO major developments in British banking forced into existence through
the cut and thrust of competition. In January 1959, Martins Bank is just a
few weeks from opening Britain’s first Drive-In Bank at Leicester. The story
has already aroused a good deal of interest in the national press, when on 5
January, Martins’ rival the Westminster Bank not only beats Martins to it,
they also open Britain’s first drive in bank on Martins Bank’s home soil of Liverpool! Recollections from the time talk of “incandescent”
Martins Directors swearing to “get even” with a similarly lavish project.
What followed is still having repercussions in today’s banking world. Stay tuned, all will be revealed in the
Spring!
The news that Liverpool’s iconic Littlewoods Pools building was
largely destroyed by fire on 2 September is sad indeed. At one time the Littlewoods organisation was
one of the biggest of Martins Bank’s Corporate Customers. The Art Deco
building featured on Littlewoods Pools’ winning cheques, and it can be seen
here in this example from the Archive.
The current owners still hope to turn the site, which has been derelict
for a number of years, in a film and TV producetion base, and we wish them
every success in this venture which should return the building to its 1930s
magnificence, and give it purpose in this new Century.
Take three girls…
There is a small mystery here – neither ourselves nor Barclays know
the names of the girls in the photo. Perhaps one of them is YOU, or perhaps
you know who one or more of them are. If you can help, please do get in touch
at the usual address gutinfo@btinternet.com. You can see more of Pegasus and learn about how Martins adapted it to
handle the daily work of forty branches by visiting our NEW TECHNOLOGY feature. there, you will find pages for LIVERPOOL COMPUTER CENTRE and for the PEGASUS II COMPUTER.
We love a good mystery,
and the recent acquisition by the Archive of a letter written by Martins Bank’s
Leeds District General Manager’s office on the eve of World War II offers for
a change, a mystery of a distinctly quirky nature. We can identify the
sender, and some of those named within the letter, but it is the sheer humour
with which it was all put together, along with the way in which the recipient
is treated by his colleagues, that makes this a unique experience for
us. Just for once we don’t have to
rely on the set pieces of Martins Bank Magazine assuring us that all is
perfect, and to be able to glimpse – just for a moment – beyond the veil of
British Stiff upper-lippidness into the real FAMILY workings of Martins
Bank is a rare thing indeed. The letter has been in the possession of Jackie
Philp for more than 40 years, and for much of that time, she tells us, it
languished at the back of the glove compartment of a car bought by her
husband. They were living in Exmouth at the time. Written in June 1939, the letter is a
“plea” to a member of staff to make a quick recovery and return to work. It is clear that this particular employee
is well liked, and that this communication is the equivalent of one of those
“get well soon” cards which in the modern day workplace would have been seen
and signed by everyone
before being sent… , Greetings to the Sick Man of Europe,
When I arrived at the Office yesterday morning
consternation reigned, cosmos was superseded by chaos as I informed my
colleagues of the direful news that, instead of proceeding in orderly
formation to “that” Branch we must, perforce, remain at our posts owing to
your untimely indisposition.
Having informed the Bank of England of this
epoch making disturbance, we settled down and endeavoured to busy ourselves
with our routine duties. This, however, was exceedingly difficult - for ever
and anon Coates' massive frame was shaken with sobs. Sills was continually
blowing his nose in a marked manner, whilst I wept silently, in a corner. The
feminine element of our Staff was also shaken to the core - all three members
were to be seen at intervals madly gyrating round the room in rapidly
decreasing circles, meanwhile emitting shrill cries and pouring upon their
unworthy heads sprinklings of ashes.
In order to beguile away your long hours of
suffering Maximilian has taken up his brush and upon the enclosed canvas
perpetrated one of his customary atrocities. It is not necessary for me to paint
the lily, but in passing I would mention, for the sake of clarity, that your
left foot is swollen owing to an affliction of gout, the other protuberance,
which is easily discernible, is due no doubt to something other than gout.
It now only remains for me to counsel you to
be of good cheer, for is it not said that a man’s years shall be three score
and ten, and I have no doubt that you will be spared until this time, even
though it is probable that you will live in fearful agony. We have not yet
heard any definite diagnosis of your malady. Various guesses have been
hazarded, ranging wildly from leprosy to laryngitis, from whooping cough to
whoopee (!) and other suggestions which I fear I dare not mention though they
may be somewhat nearer the point. And now, as time presses, lunch calls and
my stenographer faints by the wayside, I will leave you, reminding you that
it has been said that an army marches upon its stomach so I trust that during
your convalescence you will not neglect that important organ and will ply it
with viands and victuals as is your wont.
Yours, lest my gorge rises, E G MORRELL
We have sent a copy of
the letter to the Barclays/Martins Leeds Pensioners group, in the hope that
someone might just have heard tell of this letter having been sent, and we
will also feature it on our Facebook® page and in the next download of our
newsletter, in the Autumn. If you can identify the Sick Man of Europe, please
do get in touch with us at the usual address – gutinfo@btinternet.com.
The PLAY’s the thing! A number of pages have
recently been added to the NORTH EASTERN PLAYERS section of our “Song and
Dance” feature. Most pages for the other
four of the Bank’s Amateur operatic and Dramatic Societies have also been
revamped. Three performances by the
North Eastern Players have been added, coinciding with the recent acquisition
by the Archive of original programmes.
They are: 1947 – Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier, 1949 – Arsenic and Old
Lace by Joseph Kesselring, and 1950 – The Shop at Sly Corner by Edward
Percy. The existing page for two
earlier productions has now been split into two updated pages – 1937 – Ten
Till Three by H Vincent, and 1939 – the Late Christopher Bean by Emlyn
Williams. This is because further information about these productions has
been provided to us by the British Newspaper Archive. A further new page for
the North Eastern Players has been added in respect of their 1952 Production
– Little Lambs Eat Ivy, by Noel Langley. You can access the new and the
updated pages below:
50 Years On…
As the 1960s
begin, Martins Bank hits the ground running, with a dazzling display of asset
management – new branches spring up, old branches are rebuilt or refurbished,
or moved. Artworks with a local
flavour are commissioned and put on permanent display. With newspapers and
magazine still the only permitted source of bank advertising, Martins has to
make an impression, and for each new or refurbished branch, advertisements
are placed in relevant local journals to announce what is happening, where,
and when. Martins Bank archive is
currently restoring a huge number of the Bank’s advertisements to their
former glory, and remastering those which have survived until now as faded
newsprint. We are grateful to our keen eyed visitors and of course Barclays
for their help with this task. Long term friend of the Archive Stephen Walker
has been of particular help, and we are also grateful to him for making
available his extensive collection of Martins Bank memorabilia.
Accuracy in all
things is naturally expected of the banking industry, so we were surprised to
find an error in an advertisement for the opening of Washington, County
Durham Branch, in 1965. Existing and potential customers of the bank are
invited to the new branch FOUR DOORS AWAY from where it actually is, but the
error is soon spotted and corrected.
The first ad is shown in newspapers on 7 July 1965, the second on 21
July 1965.
The
advertisements are not only valuable in terms of social history, they also
reveal some detail not previously recorded either by ourselves or Barclays,
such as exact dates of opening or removal to a new address. Just occasionally
our hard copy advertisement collection is joined by some rare finds. The two
advertisements below date from the late 1940s, have recently resurfaced. They
have been restored for display within the Online Archive. The advertisement
featuring Venice is the only one we have been able to find from a set of six
in a series entitled “The History of Commercial Records”.
Farewell to more old friends..
Once again the axe has been brought
down on a number of former Martins Branches, as Barclays’ customer tell their
Bank they prefer not to use face to face services any more. You can keep up
to date with Branch closures on our MARTINS
BRANCH WATCH PAGE. So far this year FIFTEEN branch closures have been announced – ten
have already gone, and Moston, Eaton, Moor Park, Milnthorpe and Coniston will
close soon. As ever we extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has served
customers at these Branches, from Martins’ days and before, right up to the
present day. Branches are being added
to the list at a fair old rate now, and we will try to announce closures to
our visitors as soon as we are aware they are going to happen.
Buyer Beware…. We have left the following article here once again for reference, to
help explain the position regarding the theft of copyrighted images for the
purposes of re-sale. There is a common misconception that if you
can Google an image, then it is “in the public domain” and you can do what
you want with it. Even some staff at eBay® believed this until they were
recently put right – if you take or
copy someone else’s work or property without their permission or
acknowledgement, and sell it on to
make even a penny out of it, this is breach of copyright, and the real
owner can take legal recourse to stop further theft and misuse of their
property. There are currently on eBay® a number of listings
of photographs for sale, showing scenes from the past and old buildings
including these four (and many more) Branches of Martins Bank. These images originated on our web site. As you can see, under our agreement with
the owner, we prominently display copyright. These images have been copied
and printed onto cheap photographic paper. The seller even has the gall to
add their own watermark to the displayed images to prevent others from
stealing them!!!
As well as being
against copyright law, these items are worthless, having little more than
sentimental value – you will often find that collections and archives will
make images available free of charge for private use, but you MUST check with
them first. You should always check the seller’s right to copy the image –
reputable sites such as eBay® do now allow you to report copyright
infringement. For ANY item of memorabilia, the best thing to do is shop
around and compare prices – in the case of Martins Bank there are often up to
twenty different items for sale on eBay® alone on any given day. For printed
material which looks as if it has been copied, or actually claims to be a
copy, ALWAYS question the seller about copyright.
Best Regards, Jonathan. Westmorland, Sunday 2nd September 2018
WHILST MARTINS BANK
ARCHIVE HAS NO CONNECTION WITH THE DAY TO DAY TRADING ACTIVITIES OF THE BARCLAYS GROUP OF
COMPANIES, WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE CONTINUED GENEROUS GUIDANCE, ADVICE AND SUPPORT OF BARCLAYS GROUP ARCHIVES IN THE BUILDING AND SHAPING OF THIS ONLINE SOCIAL HISTORY.
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