11-386 Ipswich

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Martins Bank 1928+

Martins Bank’s first Branch at Ipswich is opened in 1939 by Mr R B Thompson. The office is set up hurriedly in an old shop front at 11 Buttermarket, with the aim of moving to more suitable premises as soon as possible.

Soon after the Bank arrives in Ipswich, the Second World War breaks out, and the desire for a better branch in the town has to be put on hold – until 1957! Martins Bank Magazine pays its only visit to Ipswich in 1950, when the spirit of “make do and mend” is still thriving, and the Branch is still decorated with fittings once used by the Bank at the Ideal Home Exhibition!

It is also worth noting here that two of the original staff members will go on to make names for themselves in the Bank: Mr R D Beaumont, a future London Assistant District Manager, and Miss M L Perks who leaves behind her days typing and cashiering at Ipswich to make a name for herself at London Trustee Department, becoming the first woman to be appointed as Pro Manager by the Bank’s Trust Company…

Our branch at Ipswich is housed in temporary premises, diagonally opposite the premises we hope one day to convert to our use. Nevertheless, the best use of the converted shop has been made, and fittings once used in the Ideal Homes Exhibition make the interior look attractive, the effect being friendly, cosy and cheery. There are several world-famous firms in Ipswich and we were not a little surprised to find that a big American engineering firm has established its works there.

In Service: 1 August 1939 until 1957

Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections – Dave Baldwin 2024

Extract from Martins Bank Limited Annual Report and Accounts 1939 © Barclays

Our bank has steadily improved its footing in the old town, despite the fact that it is not well known in East Anglia where our representation is somewhat sparse. The Manager, Mr F W Burdon, is North-Easterner who entered the Bank in 1923 and served at Willington, Newcastle City Office, Tyne Dock, Jarrow, on the District General Manager’s Staff and at High Street Gateshead and Prudhoe, before going South in 1936. His service in the South includes London itself, Bournemouth and District Office Relief Staff: He went to Ipswich in 1939, being appointed Acting Manager and Clerk in Charge in 1941. Then followed a period of military service with the R.A.F. from 1943 to 1946, his appointment as Manager dating from October 1946. Mr K.V. Amatt entered the Bank at Ipswich in 1945, and served with the R.A.F. from 1946 to 1948. He divides his spare time between playing hockey and studying for the Institute of Bankers’ Examinations. The only girl at the Branch is miss M.L. Perks who entered the service in July 1940 at Ipswich, thus having completed nearly ten years at the Branch. She has passed all her Bankers’ examinations and acts as typist and cashier. Her passbook statements are a model of what statements to customers should be, and we are confident that no better work will be found anywhere. Outside banking hours she is a keen member of the St John’s Ambulance Association and performs a spell of duty each week at the local hospital as well as competing in local and county contests. We had a pleasant lunch with Mr Burdon, stopping to look at a fifteenth-century architectural showpiece of the town on our way back, while K.V. Amatt and Miss Perks did the work, and took our departure just before 3pm taking back with us the memory of a very pleasant visit.