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Our cover photograph for
October 2026 is LEEDS CHAPEL
ALLERTON , a self-accounting sub branch to Leeds
City Office. Designed specifically to
engender a feeling of safety and security, Chapel Allerton is a lovely
traditional arrangement of stonework and pillars. It was opened in March 1926 by the Bank of
Liverpool and Martins Limited, and closed by Barclays in June 1980.
Although a sub-branch
itself, Chapel Allerton has its own sub-branch to look after at LEEDS OAKWOOD, supplying it with staff for the full
banking week – Monday to Friday 1000 until 1500, and Saturday Morning 0900
until 1130.
Our November and December
cover photographs will feature what for Martins Bank were “new builds”, that
is to say new branches built from scratch in the mid-1960s. |
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In the news for October 2026…
·
We take a “Modern Mooch”
round some of Britain’s most fascinating and in some cases obscure buildings. ·
Just what was the connection between
animals, children, and Martins Bank? ·
Our “Treasure Trove” finds have been stacking
up this year ·
Life After Martins Bank –
this popular feature remains in our news section for one more month ·
Permanent Record – we also
look at some of the branches who, following twenty-first century closure,
have revealed their Martins signage once more.
So much more than just a mooch about…
The Bank that really liked animals and children...
Treasure Trove – Captain Raymond Creer
Image © Martins Bank Archive
Collections March saw a set of personal photographs for sale on an internet
auction site that turned out to have belonged to Martins Bank’s former
Ainsdale Manager Raymond F Creer. Ray
Creer’s brainchild was “Finance for Farmers and Growers” the annual booklet
published by Martins, and later Barclays, from 1955 until 1990. His wife
Beryl was the first woman to receive a managerial appointment in the Bank,
and the photographs include several pictures of Beryl at work, and of various
sporting events which both Raymond and Beryl either supported or took part
in. There is also this wonderful image of a production by Martins Bank
Operatic Society from the late 1940s.
We are delighted that this small but important collection of moments
from the lives of two members of staff are now safely held in the Archive. We
also hold significant photographs and papers from the careers of both, which
has enabled us to record their progress through the Bank from when they
joined as new entrants…
Although January seemed endless with various storms and very stormy World events, we were on the brink of a year that just seemed to FLY by. “Recent finds” have always brought valuable information and items to the Archive and we were delighted to be contacted by Jeremy O’Keeffe, whose father was Staff Architect at Reed and Sons Paper Mills, Aylesford Kent, at the time when Martins Bank opened a sub branch there for the use both of the staff of Reed and Sons, and those of their associated companies.
An image of this little branch has long been sought, but finally it surfaced,
thanks to Jeremy’s father having kept one safely in his personal papers. Another piece of the branch photographs
jigsaw has now been filled, and we look forward to the next piece, whenever
it chooses to show itself! |
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Another amazing find came in the form of a set of letters and papers
which was being auctioned on eBay. Recognising the importance of these items
to the Archive, the Grasshopper Pensioners Club have kindly secured and
donated them to us, and as befits a find of its size, plenty of scanning and
recording of information is currently taking place! It concerns the Jopling
Family – Mr William Ewart Jopling was made Staff Manager of the Bank of
Liverpool and Martins in 1926, and there are several items relating to his
career, pension and even his will, that help to enrich the information
already held for him in our Staff Database. When he retired early on ground
of ill-health in 1941, the Bank awarded him a pension equivalent to almost £90,000
in today’s money.
There is a similar collection of documents relating to his son Austen Strang Jopling (pictured, right), many of which relate to his promotion to the managership of a number of branches. There is also one very special document which shows that in the Second World War, he undertook a number of “special duties” that granted him access to public offices and departments that were off limits to the general public. More on this particular story as soon as we can uncover the details!
Life after Martins Bank… Sometimes, there IS life after banking. The Martins Staff database is full of
examples of men and women who went on to bigger, and sometimes better things
after leaving the service of the Bank.
Often, members of the various operatic and dramatic societies come to
the fore. Sometimes, a manager retires
and then spends almost as long as their career doing good in the local
community. Fame and fortune beckon
also for some of our staff. Last month
we brought you the story of Dorothy “Dotty” Wayne, and this month she is
joined by a few more of the people for whom life came AFTER Martins Bank… G COLIN CROMPTON
RENÉE FORDER
It seems the call of the footlights and later the TV cameras can be
intoxicating, and lead – in the case of Bert Brownbill – to a very long
career in the world of entertainment.
Bill joined the staff of Liverpool Heywoods Branch in 1916. He appeared in Martins Bank Society of the
Arts’ production of “Merrie England” in 1946, left the Bank the same year,
and never looked back. In 1951 he achieved top billing in a West End Show and
played the part of Ginkle in White Horse Inn.
In 1955 he was on television in an episode of Dixon of Dock Green, and
from that point onwards the TV appearances just kept on coming:
Bert died at Gorleston on Sea near Great
Yarmouth, Norfolk in 1982, at the age of 81 years.
DOROTHY WAYNE From the
end of the second World War, until the early 2000s, it was quite normal for
someone to set out on a career path that
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Keeping a permanent record
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An unexpected result of the
closure of former Martins Bank Branches in recent years, has been the sight
of the Bank’s original signage still etched – sometimes faintly, others clear
as day – in the stonework above the door or window of a branch. Friend of Martins Bank Archive, Robert
Montgomery, has since 2009 been on a mission to photograph former branches of
the big banks, that have fallen on their sword in the name of progress. In the process he has accumulated many
images of former Martins Branches. We look forward to being able to add these
to our Branch Network pages over the coming months, but as a taster, we are
showing here a side-by-side comparison of LIVERPOOL
WOOLTON Branch. On the left you see the
branch in the 1960s, and on the right, looking almost as if time has stood
still for sixty years, you can see how the branch looked a couple of days
after it was closed in June 2021…
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Buyer Beware… We have left the following
article here once again for reference, to help explain the position regarding
the theft of copyrighted images for the purposes of re-sale. There is
a common misconception that if you can Google an image, then it is “in the
public domain” and you can do what you want with it. Even some staff at eBay®
believed this until they were recently put right – if you take or copy someone else’s work or property without their
permission or acknowledgement, and sell it on to make even a penny out of it,
this is breach of copyright, and the real owner can take legal recourse to
stop further theft and misuse of their property. There are currently on eBay® a number of
listings of photographs for sale, showing scenes from the past and old
buildings including these four (and many more) Branches of Martins Bank. These images originated on our web
site. As you can see, under our
agreement with the owner, we prominently display copyright. These images have
been copied and printed onto cheap photographic paper. The seller even has
the gall to add their own watermark to the displayed images to prevent others
from stealing them!!! |
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As
well as being against copyright law, these items are worthless, having little
more than sentimental value – you will often find that collections and
archives will make images available free of charge for private use, but you
MUST check with them first. You should always check the seller’s right to
copy the image – reputable sites such as eBay® do now allow you to report
copyright infringement. For ANY item of memorabilia, the best thing to do is
shop around and compare prices – in the case of Martins Bank there are often
more than two hundred different items for sale on eBay® alone on any given
day. For printed material which looks
as if it has been copied, or actually claims to be a copy, ALWAYS question
the seller about copyright.
Thankyou
for visiting our site, we hope to see you again soon! Best Regards, Jonathan. Westmorland and Furness, Wednesday 30TH October
2026 |
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WHILST MARTINS BANK ARCHIVE HAS NO CONNECTION
WITH THE DAY-TO-DAY TRADING ACTIVITIES OF THE BARCLAYS GROUP OF COMPANIES, WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR
THE CONTINUED GENEROUS GUIDANCE, ADVICE AND SUPPORT OF BARCLAYS GROUP ARCHIVES IN THE
BUILDING AND SHAPING OF THIS ONLINE SOCIAL HISTORY.
Intellectual Property Rights ©
Martins Bank Archive Collections 1988 to date Some items © Barclays and some
by kind permission of FIND MY PAST and THE BRITISH
LIBRARY BOARD |
Martins Bank’s
connection with a zoo-full of animals, and a range of products for young
customers is a topic we have neglected for a year or two, so it is worth
reminding our visitors of the amazing visuals that remain to remind us of the
variety of furry friends on show from the post-war era and, in particular,
advertising campaigns from 1966 to 1969. At a point where Martins was
confident enough to establish many banking “firsts”, including the cash
machine, cheque card, computers, drive-in branches and a large programme of
new-build branches, their advertising developed a quirkiness that fitted
perfectly into the “swinging” times that define the mid to late 1960s. Long
before the iconic “
You just never know
what might be lurking in your collection of old photographs and
transparencies at the bottom of that drawer you never look in anymore!
It seems that
being a first-class secretary, and an extremely good actress paid dividends
for her, as her life after Martins shows. Renée resigned from Martins Bank
Southall Branch upon marriage in 1955, but was soon attracted back to the
world of work – and how!
