11-97-00 Birkenhead Borough Road

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Going to extremes…

Birkenhead Borough Road is opened in May 1924 by the Bank of Liverpool and Martins Ltd. It survives the merger with Barclays, having a total lifespan of 59 years before being closed in October 1983. In the final months of the Second World War, Borough Road is managed by one of many women Clerks in Charge appointed by the Bank to help run Branches whose staff had been called up to fight. Miss M C Grice pictured in our gallery below is in charge from 1945-46. You can read more in our feature “Gentlemen – the ladies” HERE.

Many of the pages in the Branch Network section of this site, tell the story of one or other of Martins Bank’s Managers celebrating the end of a long career with the Bank.

In Service: 12 May 1924 until 20 October 1983

Image © Barclays Ref 0030-0199

Often, it seems that a life dedicated to going to extremes to be helpful, comes at a price, and a number of Martins Bank’s Managers have their careers cut short by ill-health. There have been examples of such Managers being given leaving presents of ashtrays and cigarette lighters, which shows us that only fifty years ago there was still a general ignorance – or a don’t care attitude - surrounding the dangers to health of smoking. At Birkenhead Borough Road in 1966, Mr MacCormack is unfortunately the latest in a long line of Managers to retire due to ill health. Although his career is “cut short” he has still put in an incredible forty-four years, twenty of them as Manager at Borough Road. Following his retirement, the branch becomes a self accounting sub branch to Birkenhead Prenton, with a Clerk in Charge once more at the helm, instead of a manager.

1966 04 MBM.jpg 1966 Mr W H MacCormack Manager (Retiring) MBM-Wi66P56.jpg at the end of September when Mr MacCormack retired on health grounds from the management of Borough Road branch, he was unfortunately in hospital under going a nasal operation and no formal presentation was possible. His many friends among staff and customers were, however, pleased to join him and his wife at the Prenton Hotel in mid-November to wish him well for, in his twenty years as Manager at Borough Road, his kindness and consideration for his customers had become almost legendary. His career began at Water Street in 1924 and was spent on Merseyside, with the exception of the war years when he was Acting Manager at Stourport branch.