Birmingham Corporation Savings Bank -
Account Transfers to the
Birmingham Municipal Bank
In the period September 1st 1919 to
March 31st 1920, 21,482 accounts with balances amounting to £325,411 were transferred from the wartime Birmingham Corporation Savings
Bank (BCSB) to the replacement Birmingham Municipal Bank.
The following table shows which branches were the recipient
of those accounts. Not surprisingly, with the Head Office of both Banks being in the same location in Edmund Street, and all the newly
opened branches being in temporary premises, the majority of accounts were 'transferred' to Head Office. Many of the accounts transferred
to Head Office probably did so by default - the depositors not having chosen any specific branch.
In this period there were three
types of branch:
A - Branches open on a daily basis
B - Branches open on alternate days
|
|
Sept
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Total
|
£
|
| Head Office |
A
|
1,542 |
484 |
2,518 |
|
711 |
258 |
8,202 |
13,715 |
159,144 |
| Aston |
A
|
249 |
280 |
|
203 |
9 |
|
9 |
750 |
17,096 |
| Handsworth |
A
|
278 |
83 |
113 |
|
4 |
3 |
3 |
484 |
9,558 |
| Lozells |
A
|
238 |
127 |
|
143 |
16 |
8 |
|
532 |
11,234 |
| Small
Heath |
A
|
179 |
481 |
|
314 |
|
32 |
2 |
1,008 |
21,962 |
| Sparkbrook |
A
|
758 |
233 |
|
270 |
|
46 |
8 |
1,315 |
27,859 |
| Ladywood |
B
|
109 |
245 |
|
102 |
17 |
|
1 |
474 |
9,146 |
| Bearwood |
B
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
2 |
2 |
16 |
181 |
| Harborne |
B
|
37 |
105 |
37 |
|
|
4 |
1 |
184 |
2,354 |
| Duddeston |
B
|
213 |
80 |
|
|
96 |
23 |
1 |
413 |
9,826 |
| Saltley |
B
|
177 |
85 |
|
|
|
57 |
12 |
331 |
10,248 |
| Acocks
Green |
C
|
73 |
48 |
34 |
|
|
4 |
|
159 |
3,485 |
| Balsall Heath |
C
|
104 |
71 |
|
|
|
94 |
8 |
277 |
5,547 |
| Erdington |
C
|
68 |
60 |
3 |
|
|
109 |
3 |
243 |
4,436 |
| Hay
Mills |
C
|
59 |
116 |
|
|
|
62 |
4 |
241 |
4,844 |
| Kings Heath |
C
|
121 |
25 |
51 |
|
|
6 |
51 |
254 |
3,871 |
| Northfield |
C
|
35 |
|
99 |
|
|
6 |
|
140 |
7,589 |
| Rotton
Park |
C
|
68 |
68 |
|
|
|
219 |
16 |
371 |
6,896 |
| Selly Oak |
C
|
182 |
94 |
280 |
|
|
13 |
2 |
571 |
10,119 |
| Stirchley |
C
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
2 |
4 |
16 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
4,490 |
2,685 |
3,147 |
1,032 |
853 |
948 |
8,327 |
21,482 |
325,411 |
The transfers of Depositors' accounts to the newly established Birmingham Municipal Bank followed action taken by the Corporation
Savings Bank Publicity Sub-Committee. At a meeting of the Sub-Committee held on Friday, August 22nd 1919 the [General] Manager reported
that he had circularised all the depositors of the Bank with deposits over 1/- with reference to the transfer of their accounts
to the new Bank, enclosing transfer form, list of branch banks, and replies were now coming in.
The Sub-Committee approved the
action of the [General] Manager, whose documentation is reproduced below:
The
Prize Draw referred to by J P Hilton was one of a number schemes employed to encourage savings in the Bank.
As shown by the
above chart, transfers took place over a period of months from September 1919 to March 1920. The transfers involved a large volume
of work in creating new ledgers, signature books, indexes, etc. Much of this work took place in a short period prior to the opening
of the new Bank on September 1st 1919 - as recorded in
a photograph taken at that time.
Transfers were recorded in the BCSB ledgers
with the aid of a rubber stamp. The example below shows that the temporary bank's first depositor transferred his account to Kings
Heath branch ("P") where it was opened as Account Number 236. And the list of branches (below) gives the finalised addresses,
and hours of opening, of the BMB's 1920 branch network.