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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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