大象传媒

Submitted on behalf of Mrs A Arnall-Culliford (nee Chandler b 23 January 1922)

I joined the secretarial staff of Barclays Bank, 54 Lombard Street, London, in 1938 aged almost 17 and even then we had been issued with gas masks which we had to wear for half an hour each week whilst typing.

I lived in Barnet and so had to travel to the bank station every day on the Northern Line Tube. When the 鈥淏litz鈥� started in 1940 it sometimes became difficult to get to work in the city and often I had to travel by trolley-bus instead 鈥� fare 1s/11d. This only took me to Finsbury Square, so I had to walk from there to Lombard Street.

On the Monday after one of the first bad raids on the City, my father (who worked in Queen Street) and I had to walk from Old Street as the Tube had ceased running from the city. I can still recall the awful smell and the piles of broken glass in the gutters. Some of the firemen were sitting on the kerb, absolutely exhausted, having held those heavy hoses for such a long period of time.

The management of the Bank, in common with the directors of the bank of England and the other 鈥渂ig five鈥� banks then decided that their staff should work in shifts and sleep in the vaults at night. Accordingly you went to work on Monday morning, starting at 9.30 a.m., had a proper cooked lunch in the Staff Luncheon Club where we were served by waitresses in dark green dresses with coffee coloured pleated aprons and head gear to match. (a la 鈥渘ippies鈥�). At 4.30 we went to the Luncheon Club again for afternoon tea, and at 5 p.m. all the accounting machines, typewriters etc. were all taken down to the vaults and so were we. (Sometimes if there was a heavy raid we had to go down during the day as well.

We were served down there with a cold supper. Every lady had a glass of sherry and the men a glass of beer, if they wanted it, and then we worked until 11 p.m. when we retired to our separate dormitories clad in our 鈥渟iren suits鈥�.

The following day, having had breakfast, we worked until 2 p.m. then went home and had the following day off; and so it went on and we had to work Saturday mornings as well.

I also remember having to work on Sundays when Japan came into the war and we spent hours typing lists and lists of Japanese Bond numbers 鈥� a very tedious exercise!

I believe that there was a film made called 鈥淐arry on Lombard Street鈥�, but I have never seen it.

Going home on a normal day about 5 p.m., one encountered all the people taking up their positions for the night. The carried bedding and their possessions and all sorts of things onto the platforms of the Tube stations and the smell when the train doors opened was a mixture of humanity and strong disinfectant! They were however very brave and stoic, arranging entertainments for themselves and celebrated Christmas underground.

I recall the night that a landmine was dropped at the Bank Station 鈥� Many people were killed and when we arrived for work all the glass had been shattered in the windows and the telephones from the Credit Lyonnais opposite had been blown onto our desks.

The saddest part of the war was going to work in the mornings not knowing whether any of your colleagues had been killed during the night time raids. I lost two very good friends. People were marvellous and despite all the difficulties, deprivations and rationing everyone pulled together and we all grew up very quickly.

I also remember going to some lunch time concerts at the Royal Exchange and hearing dame Myra Hess play the piano so beautifully.

Non of this is an experience that I would want to repeat and I do feel that our leaders should think very long and hard before they take this country to war. Bear in mind the civilian population of every country and the suffering that they have to undergo. After all, it is an experience which very few of them have actually undergone.

A Arnall-Culliford

20 November 2004

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