11-60-30 Birmingham Five Ways

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Martins Bank 1928+

Martins Bank’s presence in Birmingham begins in 1935 with the magnificent City Office premises at 98 COLMORE ROW. From then until 1967 the Bank continues to consolidate its position by opening a further nine branches: MARKETS, TYSELEY, Five Ways, HOCKLEY HILL, KINGS HEATH, SMALL HEATH, HOLLOWAY CIRCUS, EDGBASTON (Replaces Five Ways Branch), and DIGBETH (Replaces Markets Branch).

In 1964, the Broad Street and Five Ways area of the City is redeveloped, and Five Ways Branch is closed. This is to make way for the famous (and some mighy say infamous) Bull Ring Shopping Centre, which in the twenty-first Century has itself been bulldozed and replaced!

The Bank’s business transfers to a nearby newly built branch at Edgbaston. At the same time Martins’ branch at Birmingham Markets is also demolished to make way for the Bull Ring Centre, and is reopened at Smithfield House, Digbeth. Sadly we have still to trace any images of Five Ways Branch which was open for ten years from 1954, but some members of the staff are featured in our gallery below.

In Service: 13 September 1954 until 19 September 1964

Birmingham Daily Post 16 September 1954

Image © Northcliffe Media Limited Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

Image reproduced with kind permission of The British Newspaper Archive

There’s a new Branch of Martins Bank on the way!

…and there is a new Manager to go with it! Our thanks once more to our friends at the British Newspaper Archive for this story taken from the Birmingham Daily Post of 16 September 1954. The opening of the new Five Ways Branch is second here to the concise history of its new Manager, Michael Hollway. With a record of distinguished War service and of working with a number of volunteer organisations, Mr Hollway will go on to serve as Manager at Five Ways from 1954 until 1959.

Mr Michael Hollway has been appointed manager of the new branch of Martins Bank. Ltd , to be opened on September 9 at Five Ways 140/1, Broad Street Birmingham. This is the third branch of the bank in the city. Mr. Hollway was born in Yorkshire and educated at St. Peter’s School, York.

He served in various branches of the bank In Yorkshire and Lancashire before 1939. when he was commissioned in the York and Lancaster Regiment. During service In India and Burma he reached the rank of Major, being awarded the M B E and mentioned in despatches.

He returned to the bank in Leicester, subsequently spending three years at the Head Office in Liverpool. His last appointment was in Nottingham. Mr Hollway has been in the Junior Chamber of Commerce movement for many years and resigned as deputy president of Nottingham Junior Chamber of Commerce on his move to Birmingham.

He has also been honorary treasurer of Nottingham Round Table, and was keenly interested in youth work in that city.