THE GRASSHOPPER PENSIONERS’ CLUB Website: www.martinsbank.co.uk © gut informiert! SECRETARY: David Baldwin, Lower Windle, Windle Royd Lane, Warley, HX2 7LY. 'Phone: 01422 832734. email: [email protected] CHAIRMAN: Bernard Lovewell TREASURER: Robert Bunn WELFARE OFFICER: Susan Sutcliffe New Year Edition 2021 JUST AS WE HAVE MORE MEMORIES On this occasion from 1951 when our two best- FOR BEEN 458 YEARS, represented Districts in our membership met in WE’RE STILL HERE WITH their annual match, where the following photograph and comments were cut from their magazine by Joan and Gordon Anthony: The annual match between Liverpool and London Districts took place on Monday 8th October on the ground of the Odyssey WE WILL REMEMBER THEM THE MARTINS BANK WAR MEMORIAL In our last edition we mentioned the rededication of our War Memorial in 54 Lombard Street we are now attempting to identify its current location. Club in Liverpool, the kick-off being taken by Mr. J.A. Banks, the Liverpool District Manager. Fog, which persisted all day, lifted just before the match began and the game took place in brilliant sunshine but with a rather strong breeze across the pitch. Liverpool pressed strongly from the beginning and after fifteen minutes they were rewarded with a goal by Smith, the left winger, from an opening made by Bass, who had headed across the goal mouth. Play was fairly even for the next twenty minutes and then London broke away and Anthony, the centre forward, scored for the visitors. Both goal-keepers had more to do in the second half and had it not been the good work of Ford, the keeper for London, who made two excellent saves, the visitors would probably have been defeated, whereas the match ended in a draw. LUNCHES UPDATE DEATH NOTICES Hatton, Edward J on 23rd February, aged 99. We hope that you will understand that we need Hollis, Keith P on 16th July to plan for the future when COVID-19 has been Brittle, (nee Lowther) on 19th October 2020 defeated and we can all meet again. More Jean Elizabeth aged 85. information later and our revised dates are: Williamson, Ann (nee On 11th July 2020, aged Keighley - Wednesday 28th April Pretty) 86 th Liverpool - Tuesday 11 May 2021 It is always sad to learn that, after the death of London - Thursday 3rd June 2021 a partner that the widow/widower had met whilst working for our bank and this Rd, Bootle with consequent mis-delivery. At information is not currently held on our Linacre we had the account of Johnson’s, the database. If you are married to a former member Cleaners, and their numerous branches around of Martins staff then will you please let me know the country used to pay in their takings once or so that we can update our membership records. twice a week at a local branch of a bank, often JEAN LOWTHER not Martins, which mailed the credit slip plus Jean joined Martins at our bankers credit slip, to Linacre branch, where it Dartford branch in 1968 and, was my job to process them. when Jean’s daughter-in-law Secondly, living in Dorset, I should welcome a advised me of her death, she also lunch in Exeter or elsewhere in the South West. said that: Jean enjoyed getting Finally, D J Webber (Left) was her regular Newsletter but, manager of Soho Square branch. unfortunately, Jean suffered in the latter years Both he and I were on a of her life with Parkinson's and then “Spectrum” course together in the Dementia. She was 85 years old when she early 1970s. He must have been passed. Thank you for all the memories of people a very good age, being places you gave to Jean. significantly older than me. Regards, Michael Mawdsley Editor: I sincerely hope that our other members living in the south west share your views Michael so that we can arrange a lunch in Exeter, or another convenient location accessible by public transport, to eanble you all to meet again and exchange memories of your Martins days. NEVER KNOWING what, if any, future articles would be submitted by our members for our next Newsletter, I decided to feature an article from our website (subject to Jonathan’s approval) when the United Kingdom was an independent nation and hope that the following AND ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER will be of interest, as exit from the European In our Autumn Newsletter, Jean Wheeler Union, which we joined when it was a free- mentioned some names of her former colleagues trading group of countries and known as the which included Ralph Pearson, which rekindled European Economic Community, looms or might memories for our Treasurer, Robert Bunn: have even been completed by the time that you On a different tack Jean Wheeler wrote about read this. Bruton Street branch mentioning Ralph I’m. certain that we all will remember the Pearson saying he moved away from Kent to run dreaded ‘Exchange Control’ and the hoops a B & B. He also worked at Oxford Circus* and through which everyone had to jump in order to his obituary was in the Summer Connection travel ‘overseas’. So what’s new with the with a Devon address which now makes sense to documentation that will (possibly) be required me. should a trade deal not be forthcoming? We’ve Edward (Ted) Hatton died back in February and all: ‘been there, seen it, done it and have the ‘T’ he would have been 100 by now but didn't quite shirt’ (as they say today). In those days we didn’t make it, another who spent time at Oxford have a computer nor did we complain. What’s a Circus. computer we would have said? We simply knew *More memories of Oxford Circus later in the Newsletter. what to do and got on with doing it. Trade with MEMORIES OF LINACRE BRANCH countries (with the exception of Nigeria) Good evening David and many thanks for the continued without any problems. newsletter. I found this particularly interesting, So I truly hope that Sam Brookes’ account of his particularly the mention of time on his cross-Channel ferry will bring back Linacre branch where I joined memories of those halycon days when the sun the bank in 1953. I particularly always seemed to shine. But, before we read well remember the three Sam’s recollections, more from the Archive:At branches in Stanley Road; many the height of discussions as to whether-or-not items of mail were addressed Britain would join the Common Market, Martins merely Martins Bank, Stanley Bank Information Department decided to produce this handy leaflet to weigh up the pros alarmingly and completely without today’s and cons of membership. It stabilisers. x is a good example of the There were four of us in the team that year: John department’s Davies, Ted Farrell, Mike Harbinson (who had thoroughness, dealing with nine different topics about only been in the bank for 6 months) and me. We the Common Market, and did a week at a time on the boat, going down to providing a number of Dover by train on Friday, then doing 7 days on the statistics regarding trot until relieved a week later. We were population sizes, national accommodated in a tiny guesthouse known as incomes and industrial “Shalimar”. It was in one of the Victorian production details for the terraces along the front at Dover and was run by six common market two elderly ladies who had stuck it out there countries, the UK and the during the war with constant cross-channel USSR. The following shelling from the German guns at Cap Gris Nez. statement appears on the back of the leaflet, and They did us bed and breakfast and we had our on many of the other special guides produced by main meal of the day in the restaurant on board the bank: ship when we were tied up in Calais. 1952 still saw The Information Department will be pleased rationing in England, even eggs. Not in France to receive through the manager of any branch though, and we thought up a useful wheeze. We of the Bank, enquiries of an economic, bought an old bike and two stout cardboard boxes, industrial or commercial nature, concerning each taking 24 eggs, between the four of us. Then the United Kingdom, the Common Market or at lunchtime in Calais we could strap the egg other countries overseas…” boxes on the carrier and cycle from the dock up to We wonder - just how many times the KGB Calais town, buy the eggs and be back on board wrote in to obtain information? before the return crossing. ‘Wrote in’ is a sign of the times, when there were no computers back in those days! SOMETHING FROM THE ARCHIVE Putting all our eggs into two cardboard boxes… Memories of Sam Brookes I spent the summer of 1952 as a cashier on the cross-channel car ferry, TSS Halladale. (TSS = Turbine ‘WORKING IN THE COAL MINE …’ Screw Ship). The name Was a hit for Lee Dorsey in 1966, but what has Halladale, a ‘River Class’ that to do with banking and Martins Bank in frigate comes from a river particular? that empties into the sea off Well, during a freezing February 1969 I was the North coast of Scotland. I staying at the notorious Alexandra Court Hotel had volunteered for the job as whilst on a Securities course, above Castle a means of escaping being Street branch, during which the participants 3rd cashier at Bexleyheath were advised that the Institute of Bankers’ branch, which I had not Liverpool branch had organised a trip down a St.