THE ARMY BANK IS BUSY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23850, 28 December 1940, Page 8 (Supplement)

THE ARMY BANK IS BUSY

EYKI! since Britain went again to war and put millions of soldiers under arms, Cox's Bank, at the corner of Pall Mall anu Waterloo Place, London, has been busy, so much so that it overflowed into Norfolk House, St. James' Square. Cox and Co. have been bankers to army officers since 1702, and are now dealing with thousands of new army banking accounts. Since the last war the hank has been absorbed by the Anglo-Indian establishment of Henry S. .King and Co., states a London journal. In 1923 this ioint concern, known as Cox's and Kings, was acquired by Lloyds Bank. Its army character is still distinct, however. The original Richard Cox was secretarv to Lord Ligonier, colonel of the

"A Dud Cheque

Ist Foot Guards (Grenadier Guards) in 17.12. This colonel had the right to appoint an agent to deal with the pay of his officers and men. He chose Mr. Cox, who later became cashier of many other regiments and thus founded Cox and Co By 1918 Cox's had about 200,00Q officer clients. Their staff rose from 180 to 20.000, of whom 1000 were women. The bank had special " branches " in many parts of France and behind most of the other fronts, tpo. In those days, Cox's was housed at 16 Charing Cross, and had a very intimate atmosphere. A client could go behind the counter and get a girl clerk to show him in a ledger just how much money had accumulated since his Jast leave —or how little. In 1914 officers of the regular army were allowed to keep up the line old custom or running a small overdraft,

but later this privilege was discontinued, much to the annoyance of a certain young officer who, when prevented from drawing money lie did not possess, exclaimed indignantly, ,r Mr. Cox. J believo you have lost your nerve!" Many ex-servicemen will recall a comedian in a London revue of the !asfc war saying he had- been awarded a D.C.O.C. and- revealing later that he meant a "Dud Cheque on Cox."