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 At last – a Liverpool
Branch that wasn’t opened by the Bank of Liverpool! Childwall Five Ways is a relative baby in
Martins Bank’s family of Liverpool Branches, and it opened in this somewhat
Dutch Barn type of building in 1938.
The Branch sits on one
edge of the famous Childwall Five Ways Roundabout (it goes five different
ways, you know) and sits on the border of Liverpool 15 and Liverpool 16. The choice of this location for a bank
branch was obviously a good one, as Childwall survives the merger with
Barclays, remains open until October 2015.
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In Service:
1938 until Friday 2 October 2015
Image © Barclays Ref 0030-1663
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Our retirement feature centres
on Mr W A Foulkes, who is Manager at Childwall from 1946 to 1960. He enters
the Bank in 1917 and serves for an amazing forty-three years…
  At
the end of June, Mr. W. A. Foulkes retired after 43 years' service and to
mark the occasion a gathering took place at Childwall Five Ways branch on
June 23rd to witness the presentation of a cheque by Mr. Ian Buchanan,
Liverpool Assistant District Manager, on behalf of the subscribers. The proceedings
were opened by Mr. E. E. S. Riley who spoke in the warmest terms of Mr.
Foulkes's managership. Miss B. M. Carter, who has been Mr. Foulkes's
secretary for a number of years, then presented a bouquet to Mrs. Foulkes.
In his remarks Mr. Buchanan referred in the
kindliest terms to the man we have all known as 'Father' Foulkes, to his
competence and patience as a trainer of new juniors, to the basic kindliness
of his character, and to his loyalty, faithfulness and devotion to the
service of the Bank throughout the whole of his career. Mr. Foulkes replied
by thanking everyone with whom he had worked for their help and co-operation,
and especially his wife.
 The gift was to be devoted to the purchase
of a Parker Knoll chair, he told us, and there was a special word of thanks
to Miss B. M. Carter whose help all the years he had been at Childwall had
been invaluable. A cocktail-cum-tea party followed and among the gathering
of friends it was specially pleasing to note the presence of the local
Managers of the Westminster and Midland Banks. Mr. Foulkes entered the Bank in 1917. He served with H.M. Forces from
1918-19, afterwards serving for varying periods at Smithdown, Head Office,
East, on H.O. Relief staff and at Woolton Road before his first appointment
as Clerk-in-Charge at Woolton Road in 1938. He became Pro Manager at
Heathfield in 1942 and Manager at Childwall Five Ways in 1946.
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Images © Barclays Ref 0030-1663
 Many thanks to Gary
Owens, who previously sent us a photograph of LIVERPOOL
BOOKER AVENUE Branch following its closure in 2016, when the original Martins Bank
signage had been revealed above the door.
The same thing has happened at Childwall Five Ways, which closed in
2015, and whilst it is sad to see such buildings in an “unloved” state, it is
also heartening to have another direct link with the Bank’s past…
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