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 At long last we have begun the monumental task of representing
the prolific sporting activities of Martins Staff. The sports features in Martins Bank
Magazine are the big opportunity for staff who have taken part to be shown
“in action” – and a flick through ANY of the ninety-six editions of the
magazine quickly shows the sporting prowess of those who go to extremes to be
helpful. In what can be a very
sedentary life working in a branch bank, sport - and the chance it brings for
some to socialise with their colleagues - is very important. We are not just talking about kicking a
ball around for half an hour before regrouping in the pub. Banks had teams - seriously competitive
teams - teams that competed at local, inter-district, and even at national
level. Where this interest in playing
a sport for your branch, district or bank peaked in popularity is probably
the 1970s, when many banks had established their own sports grounds, or taken
medium to long-term leases on existing ones.
The following images demonstrate the relationship between bank clerks
and their favourite sports going back in time further than you would think:
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1906 - The Lancashire and Yorkshire
Bank Club Football Team
Image © Barclays Ref A61 (LYC0606P85)
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1909 - The Lancashire and Yorkshire
Bank Club Cricket Team
Image © Barclays Ref A61 (LYC0909P33)
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1933 - Martins Bank London District
Football Team
Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections - Michael
Jaques
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1950s - Mens and Ladies Inter
District Tennis Teams
Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections - Beryl Creer
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1956 - Liverpool Ladies District
Hockey team
Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections - Beryl Creer
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1958 - London Inter-District Rugby
Team
Image © Martins Bank Archive Collections - MBM-Sp58P45
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The constituent banks of Martins will each have had
their own “sporting life” to some degree.
The “Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank Club” was an early example of a
bank trying hard to bring together its employees as a team. Their quarterly “club” magazine covered no
end of topics, from trips abroad to flower arranging, the welfare of
colleagues, and pictures of staff branches and sporting teams. As a staff
magazine it was probably ahead of its time, and it is true to say that it
became the basis for Martins Magazine when that began publication in 1946.
The purpose of our “Grandstand” feature pages is to
highlight the love for sport held my so many of Martins Bank’s Staff, as they
stood outside in the winter mud and cold, as well as the summer sunshine.
Some competed for the fun of it, others for glory. Some won cups and other
prizes, others were good enough to compete for England in the Commonwealth
Games. It will probably take us years
to do justice to the numerous Bank and Inter-Bank teams that run, jump, swim,
bat and participate in just about every sport known to man, so the plan is to
gradually build up a menu below that eventually will do justice to Martins’
Sporting Life. In the meantime, as
newcomers to competitive sport, we have made something of a modest start
below. Please click on the images below for your grandstand seat for these
events…
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