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THIS
ARTICLE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN 2019 |
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Sixty years ago, plans were drawn up for yet another American
idea to “take-off” in Britain, yet the drive-in bank arrives with less of a
bang, more of a whimper. In fact the whole experience leaves Martins Bank’s
Directors incandescent with rage when things go horribly wrong. That drive-in banks did not really capture
the imagination of the British banking public is probably down to the
subsequent arrival of the cash dispenser. (A modern comparison might be to
look at the effect that the launch of mp3 digital music recording has had on
the once “futureproof” Compact Disc, another new technology that was made
redundant by the miniature digital storage devices which then themselves have
given way to the smart phone). To see just what all the fuss was about, we
journey to 1959 where Martins Bank is investing thousands in launching what
it says will be Britain’s FIRST drive-in bank… Technology from across the pond…
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“Queering the pitch”…
{On Friday last it became possible for motorists
in Liverpool to drive straight into the new Westminster Bank branch in
Princes Road, and, without getting out of their cars, cash their cheques and
pay in money at one of the specially installed windows. Our Liverpool
customers thus became the first people to use drive-in banking facilities in
Britain and the Westminster becomes the first British bank to provide them.
{So, once again, the Westminster Bank adds to its
already impressive range of services, all of them planned to help modern
people cope with modern problems. So successfully do they do this, that
thousands of people today regard the Westminster Bank as being just as
necessary a part of modern living as the motor car. And when you remember
that all Westminster Bank services are available to all Westminster Bank
customers, right from the day they open their accounts, isn’t that yet
another reason why you should bank with the Westminster too?}
The
first customer uses the new facility just after the new Branch at Princes
Road opens at 10 am on Friday 30 January. The Westminster Bank ropes in the
Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Alderman Harry Livermore to cash a cheque and be
“caught on camera” for the purposes of newspaper publicity. Luckily for Martins,
the Minister for Transport will still be available to add a seal of approval
to THEIR drive-in a month or so later! |
Image © 1959 – Remastered by Martins Bank Archive, and reproduced by kind permission of Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc |
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The
limelight having been well and truly stolen, it is small wonder that behind
the scenes, Martins’ top brass are beside
themselves with rage, and the Bank immediately calls upon Ron Hindle of its
Organisation, Research and Development Department to come up with something –
ANYTHING – that will put Martins back into the limelight, and show it to be
ahead of its rivals in new technology.
The answer is for the Bank’s experiments with computers to be
announced to the public, before any other bank can do the same. Trials of
Ferranti’s PEGASUS computer had already successfully processed the work of
30,000 current accounts, so Martins became the first British bank to
demonstrate that computers had arrived in banking, and would be here to stay.
The Bank’s research hastened the development of an automated UK clearing
system, and the introduction of the cash dispenser and computer accounting at
local branch level. You can read much more about Pegasus and the technologies
that followed, and also find out about Martins’ Branch Accounting Computer
Program, (parts of which were still in use at Barclays in the year 2000) in
our NEW TECHNOLOGY section.
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Considerable interest is taken in Martins Bank’s proposals
for a drive-in bank. Ideas from across the Atlantic are popular – rock and
roll has taken hold of Britain’s youth and spawned our very own “teenagers”,
eager to adopt the look and attitude of their American counterparts. By 1959, those who chose the old route of
becoming an adult at the age of 13 by looking, dressing, and sounding like
their parents, are soon found to be in the minority! Science fiction, in particular anything
that fuels the cold war ideas of Earth vs Mars (i.e. America vs. the
U.S.S.R.) is extremely popular, so the concept that drive-in banking will
offer an “invisible detector ray” to warn of incoming cars, and bulletproof
glass with a built in communication system must have seemed quite
futuristic.
At this time too, Martins is a very popular bank in the
Midlands, and this particular DISTRICT of the Bank is growing fast. By
staying “on the right side” of local reporters and editors, the Bank is helped
by generous feature spreads heralding the arrival of new branches, and
Martins repays this valuable publicity by taking out generous amounts of paid
advertising space in local papers. |
An
expanding district has an advertising budget aimed at recruiting new
customers. |
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The stories we have reproduced here, with the kind
assistance of our good friends at the British Newspaper Archive appear in
National Papers – Daily Mirror and the Daily Herald, and the regional
Birmingham Daily Post.
THE DAILY MIRROR – 12 January 1959
{THEY’LL DRIVE IN TO CASH A CHEQUE} {A NEW bank with special ‘drive-in’ facilities
for motorists —the latest move in the Battle of the Banks — Is to be opened
In Britain next month. It will be the first bank of its kind in the country,
although America and Western Germany have been developing the idea for the
past two years. The main benefit of the new “drive in” bank will be to enable
a motorist to visit his bank and deposit money or cash a cheque without
leaving his car—thus cutting out parking problems. All he has to do is drive
off the road and stop at a cashier's armour-plate glass window. The cashier
controls an electrically operated arm which stretches out to the motorist and
returns to the cashier. Fitted to the arm are a microphone and speaker, so
that cashier and customer can talk to one another, and a long drawer in which
cheques or money can be placed. Martins Bank. Ltd., who are opening the new
‘drive-in’ branch at Charles Street. Leicester, claim that a motorist will be
able to make a deposit or cash a cheque and be on his way again within a
couple of minutes. Fuller banking services will be provided inside the bank
itself but for these the motorist will have to leave his car. Mr. M.
Conacher, Chief General Manager of Martins said yesterday that the new ‘drive
in’ facilities were an experiment. They followed visits by bank officials to
America where they had seen ‘drive in’ banks in operation. A spokesman for
Barclays Bank, the largest of the Big Five banks said last night: “It is a scoop for Martins. We have been
thinking of a ‘drive-in’ bank for some time, but have no immediate plans for
one”.}
Image © Trinity Mirror Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH
LIBRARY BOARD. Image reproduced with kind permission of The British Newspaper
Archive www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
“It is a scoop for Martins”- That is quite compliment from Barclays! On
the same day, two other articles appear as follows: |
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BIRMINGHAM DAILY POST – 12 January 1959
{Banking without leaving the car} {The first “Drive-in” bank in Britain will be opened by Martins Bank
at Leicester towards the end of February.
At the new Charles Street branch customers will be able to deal with
“in” and “out” payments without leaving their cars.
A cashier behind an armour-plate glass window will operate a
mechanical device and within a minute or two the customer can be on his way.
Full banking facilities will be provided in the ordinary way through the
normal entrance. There will be a special opening ceremony to celebrate this
form of banking, which is popular in the United States…}
Image © Trinity Mirror Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH
LIBRARY BOARD. Image reproduced with kind permission of The British Newspaper
Archive |
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THE DAILY HERALD – 12 January
1959
{DRIVE-IN TO CASH A CHEQUE}
{A DRIVE-IN bank which will
help to put cash-grab bandits out of business opens in Leicester next month.
It will also help customers in a hurry. This is how the system, imported by
Martins Bank from America will work. 1. The customer
pulls up in a driveway opposite an amour-plate glass window in the bank. 2. From the car
window he reaches for a hand microphone and tells the bank cashier his
business. 3. The cashier
replies through a loudspeaker and pushes a button to operate an electrically
powered device. 4. In the drawer go
the customer’s cheques or cash – and the drawer closes. It slides out again
to “hand out” the money if a withdrawal is being
made, or a receipt for a deposit. Estimated time for each transaction: Two minutes.
Image © Trinity Mirror Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH
LIBRARY BOARD. Image reproduced with kind permission of The British Newspaper
Archive |
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Careless talk costs “drive-ins”… |
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It would appear that Martins Bank’s pre-publicity for their
drive-in bank was at the same time a blessing AND a curse. Whilst some rivals
looked on, perhaps glad it was not them that invested so much money into
something not tried in Britain before, others regarded this project with envious
eyes, and made plans to get there first. Work on the new Westminster Branch
at Princes Road Liverpool is speeded up and the special drive-in lane with
gadgets and bullet-proof glass take shape. Then, without a mention of their
previous enthusiam for Martins Drive-In Bank, the Birmingam Daily Post
publishes this article (right) on 31 January 1959, the day after the
Wesminster Bank claimed the prize of being first in Britain with a drive-in…
Images © Trinity Mirror Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH
LIBRARY BOARD, reproduced with kind permission of The British Newspaper
Archive |
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Making the best of it…
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Finally, and to the great relief of all concerned, what
SHOULD have been Britain’s first drive-in bank is opened on 2 March 1959 by
the Minister for Transport, who in the picture below (left) seems unsure
about whether or not to remain in his car. We are sure he soon got the hang
of it… |
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The next day, the Birmingham Daily Post covers the opening
of Martins Drive-in, and (thankfully) NO MENTION of the
rival operation is made! The images on the right are from Barclays’
collection of martins Branch photographs, and were taken by Martins Bank as
publicity shots.
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The Chairman of Martins
Bank Sir Harold Bibby, Minister of Transport Mr Harold Watkinson, and manager
of Charles Street Branch Mr J K Cornall.
“Just how does one make a cup of tea with this?” Images © Barclays Ref
0030-1597 |
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Martins Bank Magazine publishes the full story of the race
to be first with the Drive-In Bank in its Spring 1959 Edition. The cartoon
was drawn by Mr W Brookes (a member of the Bank’s Staff), whose excellent
illustrations cheered up many a page of the staff magazine over the years…
The news value of
having the first such bank would ensure its being featured on sound radio and
television, in the national and provincial press and in picture papers and
magazines throughout the country. We were fortunate in obtaining the interest
of the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, the Rt. Hon. Harold A.
Watkinson, P.C., M.P., who consented to perform the opening ceremony, and
plans were made to invite the attendance of a number of prominent local
dignitaries to a celebration luncheon party.
All the time,
however, unknown to us until after our intention had been disclosed by our
Chairman in the Bank's Annual Report, the Westminster Bank had been preparing
to open a similar branch in Liverpool, right under our noses, though theirs
was not in the centre of the city like ours. A race then began to be the
first to open. Both the Westminster Bank and ourselves suffered maddening
delays at every stage. At one time we contemplated advancing our opening date
as soon as we knew the date of opening of the Westminster's branch, but
although we were ready to open more weighty considerations caused us finally
to decide to stick to our original date which, by that time, had been
accepted by the Minister and so we had to congratulate our competitors on a
well thought out and executed project. The Lord Mayor of Liverpool performed
the opening ceremony for the Westminster Bank, Princes Road, on 29th January.
From the day the
race ended the operation began to take on some of the hues of a comic opera.
First of all, it was discovered that 2nd March, our opening date, was Panto
Day in Leicester and a Students' Pram Race from London to Leicester was due
to finish at the Town Hall at the exact moment of the Minister's arrival. We
felt that the significant link between a pram race and the Minister of
Transport would not be lost on the students.
By the weekend before the opening date it
seemed as if all the best people were making their way to Leicester, from the
Chairman and the Chief General Manager, the Deputy General Manager, the
Midland District General Manager and the Premises Manager to Miss Maureen
Dempster and Miss E. Devaynes, star machine operators; Mr. R. Hindle and Mr.
B. O'Brien, palled in to try to stop the microphone in the two-way speaker
system from howling; the Advertising Manager and Mr. S. Forrest, Assistant
Premises Manager, to be at the service of the Press; Mr. J. H. Jennings
(Assistant Manager, Liverpool City Office) appointed by the Chief General
Manager to act as liaison officer in connection with the organisation of the
local ceremony; to say nothing of the personnel of Midland District Office.
A week beforehand two
girls, chosen from Liverpool to go on temporary relief duties until the two
Leicester girls were able to take on the job permanently, had to proceed
first to London and then to Leicester for a series of publicity photographs
to be taken for all kinds of publications which were anxious to feature the
event. They were Miss Esther A. Cubbin, of Head Office Trustee Department,
who managed the Woolton Road branch of the Bank at the latter end of the war;
and Miss Monica M. Bradley of the Liverpool District Relief Staff. At the
time when one of the Leicester girls was needed, she was ill, and so the
decision was made to have the job done by relief staff for the time being,
but Miss J. M. Nockles, until recently at Hotel Street, Leicester, has now
taken over and is being assisted by Miss M. A. Perrin.
Eventually the
great day, March 2nd, came, and readers may judge for themselves by what they
have seen on television and in the papers; and on what we hope they will
continue to see, whether the operation succeeded. The staff had to turn out
on Sunday morning, March 1st, in order to facilitate the B.B.C. recordings
and although the branch was officially opened on the following day, from the point
of view of the transaction of banking business it was manifestly impossible
to open properly until March 3rd, the first day being taken up with the
opening ceremony, the press reception and the private luncheon party.
The arrangements
went without a hitch and the Minister presented the cheque donated by the
Bank to a charity of the Minister's choosing, the Outward
Bound Trust, to Miss Cubbin, while the Press flashed their bulbs and
the television cameras whirred. He was accompanied by our Chairman and in the
back of the car sat Mrs. Watkinson and Lady Bibby. In the car behind were the
Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire, Lord Cromwell; and the Lord Mayor of
Leicester and their ladies. In the third car were Colonel and Mrs. Jones and
our own Chief and Mrs. Conacher.
After the cars had
passed through, the party came into the Bank where they were received by Mr.
N. N. Jobling, Midland District General Manager and Mr. J. K. Cornall,
Manager of the branch, who presented other members of the staff. The Minister
made his way to the drive-in window and was introduced to both the girls,
with whom he had a short chat. Then upstairs to the first floor where the
pressmen were waiting to hear the Minister's speech which concluded with the
formal declaration of opening. The Minister was introduced by our Chairman,
Sir A. Harold Bibby and after the opening speech Colonel Jones formally
thanked him on behalf of the Bank for sparing the time from his busy public
life to perform this ceremony. After an interval for cocktails and for an
informal chat with those present the party adjourned to the Grand Hotel for
the luncheon party which was a private affair, presided over by Sir Harold,
and for the press luncheon in an adjoining room.
We cannot conclude
this account of an event unique in our long history without placing on record
our appreciation of the services of our Press Relations Officer, Miss Leila
Danbury, of Editorial Information Services, a subsidiary company of our
advertising agents, Osborne-Peacock Co. Ltd. A very experienced presswoman,
she handled the whole complicated event superbly, guiding us where she could
and being gently firm with us where she couldn't. As for our own girls, we
were proud of them, and the Chief General Manager told them so. Any
organisation would be proud to have such girls on its staff.
The story is not
quite over, as we go to press while the results are still coming in and there
will be a few facts of interest about the exercise in our next issue. To
date, however, 71 publications took advantage of the postal facilities of
coverage we offered, and 43 more sent representatives to the ceremony.
B.B.C., Midland Region sound radio and television featured it in the news and
also one of the Independent Television companies. It was also featured in the
“News of the Week” on National Television. We also received widespread
national publicity when the first announcement was made. The architects were
Pick, Everard, Keay and Gimson, of Leicester and the drive-in window was made
by the Mosler Safe Company, of New York.
All’s well that ends well, and the day goes according to
plan. However – it says a lot for Martins Bank’s wanting everything to be
“perfect” that the two female cashiers are brought down from Liverpool to
Leicester for the day, given expensive makeovers, and planted in the
publicity photographs! You can read more about Martins’ Leicester Drive-In
Bank, and the opening of the Epsom
Drive-in Bank by visiting our DRIVE-IN BANKING section.
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