Stories from the Vaults: Paul's Story
Paul Thomson worked at Barclays Bank on Colmore Row in Birmingham from the 1960s and visited Birmingham Municipal Bank on Broad Street as part of this role in Trusts and Deeds.
"I have clear memories of The Vaults at Birmingham Municipal Bank Head Office on Broad Street. I need to cast my mind back some 50 years, when I worked for the Trustee Department of Barclays Bank Limited in Colmore Row. After leaving King Edward’s School in Birmingham in 1967, I started at the bank and trained in wills, trusts, and probate law.
Probate was my specialty, and over the years, I learned the various aspects relating to Estate Administration. Essentially, this involved the distribution of a deceased person’s Estate, whether by Will or by the Laws of Intestacy. It was important to initially identify the assets and liabilities, including former bank accounts, investments, properties, etc.
A passbook representing an account with the Birmingham Municipal Bank might well suggest some form of deed box, then held in their Safe Deposit Department at the city end of Broad Street. An appointment would have to be made with the Manager or Superintendent, and a visit agreed upon. I would be required to take with me a death certificate, a copy of the will, plus, of course, my appropriate ID.
The Manager would assiduously review all documentation and, using the pens, crayons, and pencils kept in a box, consult the Register, which held the records of box ownership.
If all was in good order, he would lead me down to the heavily secured basement containing locked boxes, which reminded me of a scene from a crime film!
Once the box had been unlocked, and with considerable anticipation, we would examine the contents, which would be released to me once relevant forms of receipt had been prepared and signed by BOTH parties. Occasionally, the boxes held items to be held in secrecy, but normally contained jewellery, currency, bank notes, passports, and passbooks.
It was a process well established and adhered to. Birmingham Municipal Bank understandably adopted a ‘belt and braces procedure’!"
Signage from the safe deposit in the basement at Birmingham Municipal Bank.
Do you have any memories of Birmingham Municipal Bank?
You can email your memories to the Unlocking the Vaults project at: unlockingthevaults@contacts.bham.ac.uk.
We’d love to hear your stories!