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A Bank in Battledress combines institutional narrative with individual stories, illustrating how ordinary banking operations were transformed by wartime necessity. The tone is factual and restrained, reflecting both the seriousness of the subject and the conventions of mid-twentieth-century corporate publishing.
1 in stock
A Bank in Battledress – Being the Story of Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas) During the Second World War 1939–45, privately circulated in 1948, is a rare and historically significant corporate history documenting the wartime role of one of Britain’s most important international banking institutions. Produced shortly after the end of the Second World War and intended for private circulation rather than commercial sale, this volume offers a unique insider perspective on how Barclays Bank’s overseas operations functioned under the extraordinary pressures of global conflict.
The book details how Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas) adapted to wartime conditions across Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and other regions where it maintained branches. It records the logistical, financial, and human challenges faced by staff working in war zones, occupied territories, and strategically sensitive regions. Emphasis is placed on continuity of banking services, support for government and military needs, and the personal experiences of employees who served under hazardous conditions, often while facing shortages, disrupted communications, and direct threat.
A Bank in Battledress combines institutional narrative with individual stories, illustrating how ordinary banking operations were transformed by wartime necessity. The tone is factual and restrained, reflecting both the seriousness of the subject and the conventions of mid-twentieth-century corporate publishing. As a privately circulated work, it was intended to preserve institutional memory, recognise service, and record contributions rather than to function as a promotional or public-facing history.
Published in 1948, this volume now holds particular appeal for collectors of banking history, wartime economic studies, and British imperial and commercial history. A Bank in Battledress stands as a valuable documentary record of how a global financial institution operated during one of the most disruptive periods of the twentieth century, offering insight into the intersection of commerce, empire, and war.
Condition: Near fine – Light wear on boards and light foxing present.
