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Martins Bank’s Branch at King Cross, Halifax,
appears to have moved about a bit over the years, but it is, (we
think) still going strong today in the same place it always was – under the
Halifax Commercial Banking Company, King Cross was also listed as being in
Haugh Shaw Road. Later, the address
was simply King Cross, and today it is 203 King Cross Road. The answer would appear to lie in the
building being situated on the corner of Haugh Shaw and King Cross
roads. Glad we cleared that one up ,
then… Our thanks go to Barclays and
to Steve Gee for images of King Cross Branch, all of which capture
perfectly the period in which they were taken. For our feature we journey
back to 1962 and the retirement of Mr Bottomley, who has been Branch
Manager for the last twenty of a mind-blowing FORTY-EIGHT years’ service…
 Mr. A. L. Bottomley,
Manager of King Cross branch, Halifax, for the last 20 years, retired at
the end of October after nearly 48 years' service.
To mark the occasion he and Mrs. Bottomley entertained past
and present colleagues to an excellent meal at the Royal Hotel, Rishworth,
after which Mr. J. Servant, Leeds District General Manager, thanked Mr.
Bottomley for his long and efficient service, and expressed the good wishes
of all the staff for a very happy retirement.
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In Service: pre 1927
until 12 June 2020
It’s blue up
North – King Cross Branch in the late 1960s
Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections -
Steve Gee
Image © Barclays
Ref: 0030-1165
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On behalf of the subscribers
Mr. Servant then presented a cheque with which Mr. Bottomley is to purchase
a nest of tables. Miss Priestley, one of the lady members of Mr.
Bottomley's staff, presented a bouquet to Mrs. Bottomley. In his reply, spiced with typical
Yorkshire anecdotes, Mr. Bottomley recalled his early years in the Bank on
a commencing salary of £20 per annum and remarked on the changes which had taken
place since then.
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Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections -
Steve Gee
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He thanked all those with whom he had served and the District
General Manager and his staff for their unfailing help, and for the gift
which, besides being useful, would serve as a constant reminder of the
happy time that he had spent in the Bank.  Mr. Atkins (Manager,
Halifax) expressed on behalf of all the members of his branch good wishes
for a well merited retirement, and Mr. E. Nicholl, who succeeds Mr. Bottomley,
paid tribute to the personal attention and understanding help which Mr.
Bottomley had given to all his customers, as was evident from the high
regard in which he was held by them. Mr.
Bottomley's retirement is particularly interesting as he was the last
member of the staff who began his career with the Halifax Commercial
Banking Co. Ltd., which he joined in 1915.
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Apart from the years
1917-1918 when he served in H.M. Forces, being commissioned into the Duke
of Wellington's Regiment, he remained at Halifax until 1936, when he was
appointed Clerk-in-Charge of Hipperholme branch, moving to King Cross in
1942. Mr. and
Mrs. Bottomley will continue to reside in the district, where they have
many friends and interests.
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