In the days when wages were paid in cash robbers would often try to get their hands on your hard-earned money, as this cautionary tale from February 1965 illustrates.
Considering today’s methods, with security guards handcuffed to ink-exploding cash boxes, the effort for would-be thieves 50 years ago seems remarkably little.
Eccles and Patricroft Journal from February 1965 reported how 44-year-old Cybil Edwards, who worked for Heath’s Engineering Company on Cawdor Street, went to Barclays Bank on Patricroft Bridge to collect the weekly payroll.
She was driven there by works assistant, Maureen Derham, who stayed in the car on nearby Eldon Place while Cybil picked up some £700 in cash.
In today’s terms, that wodge of notes, mostly in £5, would be worth several thousand pounds.
Heaths Engineering was a well known local company that specialised in making tipping waggons and wheelbarrows.
It closed in the 1990s and the industrial buildings demolished to make way for new houses.
I was told that it was used as a temporary morgue during World War Two, the thing I mainly recall about the company was the awful smell of acetone that used to linger in the air.
As Mrs Edwards left the bank and turned into Eldon Place a man ran up behind her, snatching the brown leather shopping bag which contained the money.
She put up a brave struggle and managed to recover her own handbag because the handle snapped out of the thief’s grasp, but the workers’ wages were long gone.
The former Barclays Bank as it is today, with Eldon Place to the right of the picture – Liverpool Road, Patricroft
Her assailant then ran down an entry at the rear of what was the Bridge Radio and TV showrooms – now the North West Domestic Appliances shop – over another wall and into the rear of Firth’s furniture store.
The police were on the scene in minutes and scoured the area for the offender, using tracker dogs in an effort to locate him, sadly all to no avail.
Looking back it seems absurd to send a woman on her own into a bank to collect such a hefty sum of money, but this was a regular, daily occurrence before banking went online.
The thief was either an opportunist who got very lucky or had more likely been following Mrs Edwards for several weeks. He seemed to know her route and exactly when to strike – could he possibly be a disgruntled ex-employee?
The scene of the crime – Barclays Bank on Liverpool Road – has also closed down and is due for demolition as new houses are to be built on the site of the Talk of the North nightclub and the extra land will be included in the plans.
The thief was never caught and hopefully Heaths changed their safety measures when picking up the firm’s wages, and possibly sent burly workmen to discourage would-be thieves.
If any of our readers worked at Heaths and can confirm the story of a ghost that allegedly haunted the building could they please contact me at tonyflynn@salfordonline.com
