In Birmingham there was a Municipal Bank, our local branch being on the corner of Station Road and Lyttleton Road in Stechford. It smelt like a bank, with a high counter and grills behind which stood formidable people.
When I started school we were asked for money for all sorts of things, pennies for the lepers, money for the poor, pennies for Africa, all sorts of things. We were also allowed to save money to put in the BMB as it was called and savings stamps were available one day a week. We used to bring in our 3d and 6d and in return we would get a stamp to put on our card, which the teacher kept safe for us. When the card was full it was worth one whole pound (or we could have a mixture of stamps to the value of £1) and we would be given this card to take home so that our parents could take us to the Bank to pay the money in. The stamps had small pictures of Princess Anne and Prince Charles, Princess Anne being worth 6d and Prince Charles worth 1s. I very rarely managed a shilling; once I had saved up 6d then the stamp was put on my card.
My teacher just would not let me save up too long (12d (pennies) in a 1s (shilling)), nowadays I understand that just for 30 children to have 6d each was a lot of money to have lying around so that is probably why she changed our money into stamps so often!
Anyway with my first full card, off I went with Mam to the bank, it was terrifying – think Mary Poppins!! This well built lady looked over the counter at me as Mam explained why we were there. She passed a form under the grill and we took it over to the small desk on the wall, I could just about reach so Mam had to help. We filled it in and took it back to the lady who said I would have to fill in another one as she had not seen me sign it!! Back we went again and then brought the form back to her so I could sign it in front of her. Mam had to lift me up to sign this and in my childish writing I signed my name – Christine Holland. Sometime later when I was about 10 and went to withdraw some of this money, I was not allowed to get any because my signature had changed!!! Back Mam had to come again to countersign and all for a couple of pounds!!!
Sometimes - usually in Lent – we were given a sheet that had panels on it into which we could slot pennies. This form was filled in during the course of Lent and the money was sent to ‘the lepers’. We used to have stories about how it was for these people in those days and all the grisly details about the disease – every year, I mean once was enough!! – but I suppose each teacher had her own take on it. So another sheet but more interesting to fill in. It was very satisfying to see the rows of pennies filling up the sheet although I only ever managed to fill one in my whole time at Corpus Christi. As I grew older the bank gave me a green money box which could only be emptied by one of the clerks, it was a very boring money box and I really wanted something pretty but there you go …….. this dull, olive green oval metal box with a slot on the top and a small hole to one side appeared on the shelf. It was ugly but it held my savings and the worst of it was that I would have to go back to that ‘lady’ who obviously thought children didn’t belong in a bank. I rolled my £10 note and put it in that box – ha-ha that’d fox her!!! The funny thing is that the bank is now a children’s’ nursery ………..
When we moved to Hall Green the money box came with us and I started to use the Municipal Bank at the top of Highfield Road – I think it is an Estate Agents now – the staff were a wee bit more tolerant but otherwise it was just the same as the Stechford branch, austere, awesome and smelly!! As soon as I left Our Lady of Lourdes – who had the same savings system!!! – I changed to the Post Office next door to the bank. Their money box looked like a small book and we could choose the colour so I had a blue one. Once again the money box was taken to the Post Office to be opened and then entered into the Savings Bank book but the staff were really friendly and always made me feel that I had achieved something, which in those days I really had!! I still have a couple of the boxes but our local PO cannot find the key – I will have to try a few of the older POs, maybe someone will recognise them!!
