Lt. 4 Bn Y & L. A bank staff record card shows that he joined the army on 2/8/1915 and was demobilised on 6/2/1919. He was a POW in Karlsruhe, Germany from 14/4/1918, and got back to England at the beginning of that December. b 29/4/1880 Heanor, Derbyshire. Edward Allen Holmes worked for Parr’s Bank which eventually became National Westminster Bank (NatWest). The first ‘bank’ men to make it home were those who had been prisoners of war or internees. Many of them were back in Britain by December 1918 or early January 1919, not yet officially demobilised, but on leave. Some were in very poor health and needed time to recuperate, but others were anxious to resume normal life as soon as possible. E. A. Holmes of Hathersage branch was one. Although suffering from occasional headaches, his health was good, and by the end of the month he was helping out at the branch, assisting with the very busy six-monthly balance.
From the Royal Bank of Scotland archives (31/3/2015);- EA Holmes was born in Heanor, Derbyshire on 29 April 1880 and entered the service of Crompton & Evans’ Union Bank on 1 March 1897 at the Chesterfield branch. In March 1901 he moved to the Sandiacre branch. He was still there in December 1913. In 1914 Crompton & Evans’ Union Bank was acquired by Parr’s and he appears to have gone to work at Hathersage branch (a branch that had been part of the Crompton & Evans’ network). He is listed in Parr’s staff registers at Hathersage branch for the full years of 1914-1916 and again from 1919-1922, Parr’s staff registers show that he moved on to Sutton-in-Ashfield branch on 15 May 1922 where he was chief clerk, until June 1923, when he became Manager of Hathersage branch. He continued in this post until October 1937 when he retired (age 57). Kelly’s Directory of 1925 and 1932 shows he lived at Bank House above the Westminster Bank.
(In 1918 Parr’s Bank was acquired by London County & Westminster Bank, and adopted the improbable name London County Westminster & Parr’s Bank. Unsurprisingly, in 1923 the name was shortened to Westminster Bank). The Hathersage branch closed down on 3/9/2015.