| Activity | By 1937 it was recognised within the Bank that war would be inevitable. Due to a perceived increase in the threat of air raids, preparations were made to evacuate sections of the Bank away from London. By the time war was declared on 3rd September 1939, the Bank had put into motion its plans to evacuation departments to Staffordshire and Hampshire. The departments remained away from London until the war had ended. While away from London many of the staff provided voluntary labour to local farmers and to cultivating land which the Bank had leased, with the food grown provided to the staff canteen.
Hurstbourne in Hampshire was one of the sites chosen by the Bank for this evacuation due to its proximity to the site at Overton, where plans were underway for a camp for the evacuation of the Printing Works staff. The site at Hurstbourne was largely used by the Accountant’s Department and part of the Establishments’ Department, and consisted of both the use of 'The Mansion' at Hurstbourne Priors, as well as the newly constructed Hurstbourne Camp on the neighbouring Winsome Meadow. Further accommodation was provided for the Chief Accoutant in Laundry Cottage at Hurstbourne.
The Mansion, Hurstbourne Priors (built 1894, demolished 1965): Situated just outside the village of Whitchurch, this was the home of Patrick Donner, Conservative MP for Basingstoke. By April 1939 the Bank had entered negotiations with Donner to lease The Mansion for five years for a small retaining fee, with the condition that he would vacate the house and all its outbuildings at forty-eight hours’ notice at the outbreak of war. In the event, Donner was persuaded to waive his notice period, and vacated the property on the afternoon of Saturday 2nd September 1939, before War had officially been declared. Twenty-four hours later the first Bank staff arrived. The Mansion provided accommodation for women staff, initially those of the Dividend Preparation Office, as no other accommodation was immediately available, and then for women staff of the Accountant's Department. At its maximum occupancy, the building provided accommodation for 309 women, sharing just seven bathrooms.
Hurstbourne Camp: It was initially estimated that a staff of 490 men and 138 women would be needed to cope with the day to day running of the Accountant’s Department, and therefore despite the size of The Mansion it would not be large enough for the whole staff. The nearby Winsome Meadow was therefore leased from the estate and a camp constructed to provide both further accommodation and work space for the staff. There were eventually around 50 buildings in the camp over a space of 7 acres, which included a large office block of 50,000 sq. feet, 16 sleeping huts, catering and domestic offices and a canteen, with catering provided by J. Lyons and Company.
By 1944 with the war turning in favour of the Allies, many began to wonder at the future of the Accountant’s Department. Before their evacuation they had occupied offices at Finsbury Circus during the Threadneedle Street rebuilding programme, however these offices had been occupied by the Royal Army Pay Corps, and the areas identified for the department at Threadneedle Street would continue to be needed by Exchange Control. Eventually, the Bank negotiated a direct swap with the Royal Army Pay Corps, so that they would occupy the sites at Hurstbourne in exchange for the offices at Finsbury Circus. Although it was initially felt that the department may remain at Hurstbourne for up to eighteen months following the end of the war, in the end the staff were given just one month’s notice that they would be returning to London on 28th May 1945, which was dictated by the need of the Corps to be in a permanent location during the demobilisation period. |