11-68-50 Bebington Lower Bebington

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Wherever you might find yourself whilst visiting Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, you are never too far from a branch of Martins Bank. In the Bebington area the Bank has outlets available at Lower Bebington, (fondly referred to as “Lower Beb”), and at Bromborough. Lower Bebington is a self accounting sub-Branch to Rock Ferry Branch, and it survives the 1969 merger with Barclays, staying open into the twenty-first century.

As all banks close down their branches at the rate of several a week in the third decade of the twenty-first century, it is saddening to see that in former Martins Bank strongholds like the Lake District, Manchester, Merseyside and the Wirral Peninsula, all have now been lost to history.

That there is still a need for cash has thankfully been noticed, but the setting up of “banking hubs” where customers of both the high street banks and the Post Office can use cash and receive the personal service they rely on, is taking a long time to establish, and as most banks have closed branches, it might be a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted! Unfortunately Lower Bebington, is one of these branches, closed before the banking hub initiative was thought of – the doors at 182a Bebington Road were shut for the final time in 2011 - after eighty-three years in service.

In service: 11 May 1928 – 18 February 2011

1960 s Lower Bebington Exterior BGA Ref 30-1739

Image © Barclays Ref 0030-1739

Martins Bank Magazine never visits the Branch, but there is one retirement write-up in the archive, from 1967, that we can use as our feature article for this branch. In a much shorter piece than is usually published when someone hangs up their Bank tie for last time, we learn of the retirement of Mr Othick, who has been Clerk in Charge at Lower Bebington for the last twenty-one years…

1946 to 1967 Mr T L Othick Clerk in charge MBM-Wi67P52 at the end of October Mr Othick retired after 46 years' service on Merseyside, almost half of which was spent at Lower Bebington branch where he was appointed Clerk-in-Charge in August 1946.

It was his wish that there should be no formal presentation, but at a small dinner party given by him and his wife a clock was presented to him from past and present colleagues as a token of their regard. The District General Manager called on Mr Othick on his last day to wish him well in retirement.

1941 to 1946 Mrs J Waterman Clerk in Charge MBM-Sp47P25.jpg Between 1941 and 1946, Mrs J Waterman – who is pictured here and below in our Staff Gallery – is appointed Clerk in Charge at Lower Bebington. She is one of a large number of women given this type of role, in order to keep the business of the Bank working in areas hit hard by the calling-up of the male staff to serve in the Second World War. Most of these women were bank managers in all but name, and helped to keep the bank open and available to its customers at that time. You can read much more about this on our Martins at War feature page – GENTLEMEN: THE LADIES – where we have a gallery and short biographies of many of the wartime women clerks-in-charge.