GIFT OF £20,000.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 35, 11 February 1935, Page 17

GIFT OF £20,000.

. I BOUGHT BY SANDWICH, i FREE DINNERS AND BEER FOR BANK WORKERS. (By Special Air Mall.) LONDON, January 19. A. woman walked into her London bank many years ago. She noticed one of the clerks covertly eating sandwiches from a paper bag. She asked to see the manager. Ho explained that many clerks lunched that way, either for convenience or economy. "Transfer £20,000 from my account," said the woman, "as the basis of a fund to provide a good hot meal and a glass of beer every day free to every person j who works in this bank." Hot wishes have been carried out ever since. The staff have a four-course luncheon, with beer and stout. When the clerks are working overtime a free moat tea is also provided. The food bill runs into many thousands a year, and the drink bill averages £3000 per annum. There is a resident housekeeper, a, paid cook, and a large staff to provide the 200 officials at the bank with their daily meal. The catering is supervised by a mess committee. At Christmas old ale is the drink, and turkey and plum pudding replace the ordinary fare.