'Birmingham Mail' - November 7th 1924
Sentence of six months’ imprisonment in the second division was passed this morning by
the Stipendiary at Birmingham Police Court, upon Harry Howard Crump (age 45) of 161a Stratford Road, Sparkbrook, the former manager
of the Duddeston Branch of the Birmingham Municipal Bank, charged with stealing money belonging to the bank.
Mr Pugh, who prosecuted,
said the total amount of the deficiency would reach £500. Hitherto the accused had borne a good character.
Mr Hilton, the general
manager of the Municipal Bank, said Crump had always been a good worker and had been keenly interested in the affairs of the bank.
The
Stipendiary, imposing sentence said to accused: “You stole this money in a cool, calculating manner and grossly abused the confidence
reposed in you.”
Opening the case, Mr Pugh, prosecuting solicitor, said that on April 24 Crump stole £10, on May 22, £20, and
on August 19, £29. It was added by Mr Pugh that accused had been the trusted manager of the bank and complete confidence was reposed
in him.
The sums of money mentioned had been paid into the account of a woman who could not write, and who had to testify to
her signature by a cross. In respect of the £10 and the £20 the withdrawal notes were made out in the handwriting of Crump, and so
was the signature “Alice Hutchins: her mark.” The mark was initialled by “H.H.C.” as a witness.
“As a matter of fact,” alleged
Mr Pugh, “Mrs Hutchins was not at the bank on either of the days the money was supposed to have been withdrawn, and the mark was not
made by her or with her authority.”
In another instance Crump took the withdrawal notice, initialled it “Examined, H.H.C.” to
the lady cashier, and a pass-book was initialled. There must, added Mr Pugh, have been two pass-books in existence, one in Mrs Hutchins’
possession and another which the cashier must have initialled.
Evidence was given by Mrs Hutchins, of 10, Cranby Street, Saltley,
and Mr J P Hilton, the general manager of the bank. The latter said Crump had been employed by the bank since 1919. Before that he
had been in the Gas Department for 19 years. He became manager of the Duddeston branch in August, 1921.
Detective-sergeant Baguley
put in a statement made by accused, in which he said that, after losing his wallet containing £40 in Treasury notes, he went to a
moneylender and borrowed £40.
His eldest daughter was taken ill shortly afterwards, and he borrowed a further £50. In respect
of these sums he repaid £135.
It was after borrowing the second amount that he thought of obtaining money from the bank customers.
He had, he said, no idea of the approximate amount that he took.
Leaving Birmingham on October 5, he went to London, walking
about from place to place with only a few coppers in his pockets. He had not a penny left of the money he took from the bank.
Accused
appeared to feel his position acutely, and buried his face in his hands during the greater part of the hearing. On being formally
charged he said: “I am guilty; I have nothing to say.”
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Report
submitted by the General Manager to the Bank's Finance Sub-Committee meeting on October 14th 1924:
Disappearance of Mr Crump
The
General Manager regrets to report that Mr H H Crump, an officer of the Bank, formerly Branch Manager at Duddeston, left home on Sunday,
October 5th, at 10.30-am, and has not been heard of since. Investigations into the accounts of this Branch show that Mr Crump has
received money and not accounted for the same, falsified the books, and put through receipts for moneys purporting to be withdrawn
by depositors, who deny that such moneys have been withdrawn by them.
The Treasurer was requested to inform the Guarantee Society
on Tuesday, October 7th, that Mr Crump had been suspended, and an investigation into the accounts was proceeding.
The investigations
proved misappropriation of money, and an application was made to the Stipendiary on Friday, October 10th, for a warrant for the arrest
of Mr Crump.
The Auditors (Messrs Agar, Bates, Neal & Co) are conducting the investigations in conjunction with a selected
staff of the Bank. Up to the present there appears to be evidence of misappropriation of £600 to £700; but until all the pass books
can be obtained and examined, and the Auditors' report received, the facts cannot be known.
A full report of the steps taken
by the General Manager and the position at the close of Friday night, October 10th, is in the hands of the Chairman. Subsequent reports
will be made as the investigations develop.
The General Manager is of the opinion that the disclosures of this investigation
warrant immediate action being taken with a view to introducing additional checks and safeguards, particularly in regard to the control,
issue, and examination of pass books, and suggest that the Chairman and himself should submit proposals to a special meeting of this
Sub-Committee.
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Report
of Special Sub-Committee, dated October 20th 1924:
Duddeston Branch Investigations.
The Chairman and General Manager have
had a long interview with the Auditor regarding the investigations now proceeding at Duddeston Branch in connection with the disappearance
of Mr Crump.
In considering closely the system of bookkeeping and checking which takes place day by day, your Sub-Committee are
pleased to be assured by the Auditor that he is quite satisfied with the arrangements, and that it is neither necessary nor desirable
to introduce any further check or internal audit, which, in his opinion, would only complicate what is a simple and effective system
and check provided the instructions laid down for the guidance of officers are carried out.
The weakness, as disclosed by the
investigations, would appear to be in the issue and control of pass books, and this matter has been very carefully looked into, with
the result that the General Manager has submitted proposals for the issue and control which your Sub-Committee and Auditor thoroughly
agree with.
As the investigations prove that it is more a matter of supervision at the Branches than the introduction of any
additional checks or alterations of the system, your Sub-Committee are of opinion that the necessary supervision should be more closely
maintained. They realise that the area to be covered and the number of Branches make it impossible for the two Superintendents to
do justice to the Bank or to themselves in this matter; and to meet the situation a proposal is made to appoint an additional Superintendent.
Your
Sub-Committee are further of opinion that while it is necessary to have this closer supervision, it is nevertheless in the interests
of the Bank to insist upon the work of the Bank being carried out in accordance with the instructions laid down; and that while
the Superintendents would be expected, as they are today, to make certain tests and checks, their duties should be carried out tactfully
and in a friendly spirit of supervision rather than dictatorial or inquisitorial. If this is done it is felt that the keen interest
and enthusiasm which has hitherto marked the work of the officers will not be diminished.
The case at Duddeston clearly points
out, however, that duties have been undertaken by subordinates who have either failed to understand or not read the instructions,
or have complied with instructions given by the Branch Manager in a spirit of obedience. While your Sub-Committee realise that the
man in charge must have respect paid to his position by those under him, they are nevertheless convinced that it would be made an
offence, rendering an officer liable to dismissal, if he or she knowingly discharges a duty which is in defiance of the instructions
laid down; and that if an officer is called upon to perform a duty which he does not understand and the position is not satisfactorily
explained to him, his performance of that duty under protest and subsequent report to the General Manager will not be held as an insubordination.
Summarised,
your Sub-Committee recommend as follows:-
1 All pass books in respect of new accounts shall bear a printed number corresponding
to the number of the ledger account and signature book.
2 All pass books to be used as continuation or as duplicate pass books
shall bear a printed serial letter and number.
3 Registers to be kept at Head Office of the issue to Branches of (1) new account
pass books and (2) continuation or duplicate pass books, which registers the Auditors will check.
4 A register to be kept at
each Branch indicating the issue of continuation or duplicate pass books, which the Auditors will check. (There is no need for a register
in respect of new account pass books, as the ledger numbers and signature books are an automatic check.)
5 Two officers of the
Bank to be made parties to the issue and entries in a continuation or duplicate pass book, and to be required to sign the register.
6
A register to be kept at each Branch of pass books which are left there for safe custody or other reasons, in which the signed authority
of the depositor shall be given. (This is in substitution of the letters and slips of paper which are at present attached to the pass
books.)
7 No deposit or withdrawal to be made except at the cashier’s desk and to the depositor or his authorised representative.
In the case of postal transactions, the cashier to be responsible for the production to the Auditor of a registration receipt of posting
where the money is not remitted by the General Manager’s cheque.
8 That an additional superintendent be appointed immediately.
(In this connection your Sub-Committee recommend Mr Cheatle for this post).
9 It will be appreciated that appropriate instructions
covering these points and other minor details are necessary, and your Sub-Committee recommend that the Chairman and General Manager
should be authorised to issue to the Branches such instructions as they may deem necessary in the matter, and that authority should
be given for action to be taken immediately on the lines indicated above.
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Extract
from the minutes of the General Purposes Sub-Committee meeting of November 24th 1924:
1920 The General
Manager read the following reports of the Auditors with reference to the defalcations which had taken place at the Duddeston Branch:
Auditors'
Reports:
The Committee were informed that Mr
Crump formerly Manager at Duddeston, had been tried by the Stipendiary, and sentenced to six months imprisonment in the Second Division.
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Extract
from the minutes of the General Purposes Sub-Committee meeting of December 8th 1924:
It was pointed out that it would be
necessary for the Bank Committee to pass a formal resolution terminating the appointment of Mr H H Crump.
632
RESOLVED:- That the General Committee be recommended to terminate Mr Crump's appointment as from 6th October last, and to ask the
Finance Committee to agree to the return of Mr Crump's contributions under the Superannuation Scheme on his signed authority being
obtained that the required amount should be paid to Mrs Crump.
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Extract
from the minutes of the General Purposes Sub-Committee of December 15th 1924:
1931 The following report of the
General Purposes Sub-Committee was presented:
Termination of the appointment of Mr Crump.
With reference to the above case
it will be recalled that Mr Crump absented himself from duty as from October 6th last and your Sub-Committee now recommend that a
formal resolution be passed terminating his appointment as an officer of the Bank from that date.
Your Committee with a view
to assisting Mrs Crump and family, recommend that the Finance Committee should be asked to agree under Clause 19 of the Birmingham
Superannuation Scheme, 1909, to the return of Mr Crump's contributions under the Scheme, on his signed authority being obtained that
the amount shall be paid to Mrs Crump.
1940 RESOLVED: That the Finance Committee be asked to agree under
Clause 19 of the Birmingham Superannuation Scheme, 1909, to the return of the contributions of Mr H H Crump under the scheme, on his
signed authority being obtained that the amount should be paid to Mrs Crump.
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Extract
from the minutes of the Finance Sub-Committee of January 12th 1925:
The General Manager reported that, with five exceptions,
the whole of the pass books of Depositors at the Duddeston Branch required by the Auditors, where the credit balances amounted
to £5 or over, had been obtained and examined. The total amount involved in the five pass books not to hand totalled the sum of £174.
17. 1.
The General Manager also reported that of the pass books required by the Auditors where accounts had been closed during
the period Mr Crump was at Duddeston Branch, he had been able to obtain all with the exception of 32. Every possible effort had
been made to trace these 32 without success.
Instructions have been given to the Branch that should any of the required books
be presented at a future date they are to be retained for presentation to the Auditors.
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Extract
from the minutes of the Bank Committee of January 19th 1925:
On Minute No 1940, the following communication was received
from the Finance Committee approving of the proposals as to the return of contributions to Mr H H Crump under the Superannuation Scheme:
RESOLVED:
That the recommendation of the Bank Committee be approved, and the Treasurer instructed to act accordingly.
1958
RESOLVED: That Minute No 1940 be discharged.