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If you are looking for the
fountain of eternal youth, it seems to be located in Birkenhead – at the very
least, we believe there must be something in the water on the Wirral
Peninsula that keeps the staff and former staff of Martins Bank thriving!
What leads us to this conclusion?
Below we feature the reunion of no less than FIVE Managers of the
Branch, and we also have the retirement celebration write-ups for four of
them, all as published in Martins Bank Magazine – Mr Grice, who leaves in
1947, Mr Harrison who retires in 1954, Mr Costain, whose turn it is to go in
1961, and Mr Chisholm who leaves in 1964.
Rock Ferry branch is another
example of those “corner aspect” branches, where signage can be seen in two
streets at once.
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In Service: 1898 until 2 October 1987
Image © Barclays
Ref 0030-0201
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.A Happy Reunion…
  We wonder
whether any Branch can better Rock Ferry's total of five managers who have
reached retirement age at the Branch. The group above shows, on the left, Mr
C. Barlow (88) 1901-36, centre
Mr H. W. Grice (77) 1936-47, right
Mr G. Harrison (70) 1947-54 with
Mr R. E. Costain (63) 1954-61. Between
Mr Barlow and Mr Grice is Mr G. W. Chisholm, Manager from 1961 until his retirement in
October this year.
It’s been nice, Mr Grice…
  On
the 27th March, 1947, a large gathering of friends and colleagues crowded
into Rock Ferry Branch to say farewell to Mr. H. W. Grice, who was retiring
from the bank after 44 years' service. Mr. R. E.
Costain welcomed the guests, who included Mr. R. H. Price, Assistant Staff
Manager; Mr. G. Harrison, manager, Castle Street; Mr. T. A. Grimes, manager,
Birkenhead ; Mr. G. H. Shepherd, manager, Chester; Mr. S. N. Rimmer, manager,
Charing Cross, Birkenhead; Mr. A. Wall Jones, manager, Claughton Village; Mr.
D. S. Burrow, manager, Cattle Trade Branch, Birkenhead; Mr. T. L. Othick,
Clerk-in-Charge, Lower Bebington; and many other colleagues. Mrs. H. W. Grice
and Miss Margaret Grice, Mrs. G. Harrison and Mrs. R. E. Costain were also
present, as was the manager of the Midland Bank Ltd., Rock Ferry. Mr. R. H. Price then made the presentation of a bicycle
on behalf of the subscribers. Mr. Grice
entered the Bank of Liverpool in 1903 at Seacombe Branch and later served at
Heywoods, Old Swan, Tue Brook and East Branches.
After service in the Great War he returned to Head Office in 1919, where he
remained until he was appointed manager of Rock Ferry Branch in 1936.
There’s no comparison, Mr Harrison…
  The
retirement of George Harrison at the end of July removes from the active
scene one of the best-known and best-loved managers in the Liverpool
District, and the large number of people who subscribed to his parting gift
together with the gathering of Merseyside colleagues who attended the
presentation ceremony were a most impressive tribute to a very popular
colleague. The presentation was made
on behalf of the many subscribers by Mr. R. H. Price, the Staff Manager,
after Mr. R. E. Costain, the new manager, had paid his own personal tribute.
Mr. Price outlined Mr. Harrison's career and, referring to the wealth of
messages and letters which had been received, conveying good wishes,
selected one special one, that from Dan Thomas, to read to those present. In
its warmth and affection it summed up what we all felt about George. Mr. Harrison entered the Bank in 1911 and served at Head
Office and Birkenhead before joining the Colours on August 4th, 1914. On his
return to the Bank in 1919 he went to Liverpool Foreign Branch for the next
eighteen years and to Castle Street in 1937. His first appointment, as Pro
Manager at Castle Street, came in 1939 and he became Manager at Rock Ferry in
1947. He was presented with a cheque, and
his wife, whom we were all delighted to see, was given a cut-glass vase and a bouquet of flowers. We
understand that a television set is at the top of the list of favourites but
George must remember that you can't argue with a television set, you can only
smash it, and for one who for the past 43 years has " argued high and
argued low, and also argued round about him " this is a point to be
borne in mind! George's work for the British
Legion will never be forgotten and none of us will ever forget him or his
gracious wife.
Auf Wiedersehen, Mr Costain…
  The
retirement of Bob Costain, Manager of Rock Ferry Branch since 1954, was the
occasion of a gathering of friends and colleagues at the Branch on July 31st,
which included two of his three predecessors, Mr. C. Barlow and Mr. George
Harrison, The absence of the third, Mr. Hugh Grice, who was on holiday, just
prevented the occasion from being unique in the Liverpool District. The proceedings were opened by Mr. D. P. Roberts,
second-in-command at the Branch who, after paying his own tribute to Mr.
Costain, called upon Mr. N. N. Jobling, Liverpool District General Manager,
to make the presentation of a cheque on behalf of the subscribers. Mr. Jobling
thanked Mr. Costain on behalf of the General Management of the Bank and of
the Liverpool District General Management for his contribution to the
progress of the Bank, and he included in his remarks Mrs. Costain, whom all
were delighted to see present. A bouquet was presented to Mrs. Costain by
Mrs. Weston. At the conclusion of the
formalities those present partook of the excellent refreshments prepared by
Mrs. Costain and her helpers. Mr. Costain
commenced his service with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank and among the
Branches at which he worked were South John Street, Wallasey, Seacombe and
Linacre.
Goodbye, Mr Chisholm…
 mr chisholm's retirement at the end of
October as Manager of Rock Ferry Branch was marked by an informal gathering
of nearly 50 friends, past and present colleagues and their wives. This was a typical measure of his popularity and Mr I.
Buchanan (Liverpool District General Manager) said that while he wished to
observe Mr Chisholm's request for a minimum of formality, he was most anxious
to point out that Mr Chisholm was the fifth member of the family to serve the
Bank and that the family had contributed 90 years of continuous service.
Moreover he now became the fifth member of a remarkable team of retired
managers of Rock Ferry Branch, covering a continuous period of 63 years with
a total of 216 years' service. Despite the fact that Mr Chisholm was beyond
normal retirement age he was, said Mr Buchanan, 'quite a boy' compared with
his predecessors and he concluded with sincere thanks for his excellent service
and friendship. On behalf of friends and
colleagues, a cheque to purchase a roto-cultivator for the garden of his new
house was presented to Mr Chisholm and Mrs Chisholm received a bouquet from
Miss Rosina Phillips. Mr Chisholm in a brief reply thanked his colleagues and
paid a handsome tribute to his wife before inviting his friends to indulge again in the excellent refreshments. Entering the service at Head Office in 1922 Mr Chisholm's
career was spent in Branches on Merseyside. In 1938 he became Clerk-in-Charge
at Little Sutton, and Clerk-in-Charge at Eastham in 1943, going to Rock Ferry
as Manager in 1961.
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