William Wallace Craig (WWC) has been just a name to me - my husband's grandfather - who had died 4 years before Mike and I met. Thanks however to John Warren, who represented Barings Bank at Eva Margaret's funeral, and my daughter Sarah's interest in family history, I recently spent a day at the archives of the bank. My thanks are due to John Orbell, Barings' Archivist, who made me most welcome and provided facilities and a staff member to help me navigate my way around ledgers and correspondence files.
WWC has now become real to me, with a strong personality demonstrating great ability and an obvious hard worker. Having been taken on straight from school by the Liverpool branch in a junior capacity, he rose to the highest position at 8, Bishopsgate, the Bank's Head Office in the City of London, that a non-Barings family member could achieve. John Orbell commented that these days he would have gone even further. Indeed in conversation with Mr Orbell it is apparent that WWC is still highly regarded there.
I hope you enjoy this snapshot of him as much as I have enjoyed putting it together. If you know more about him please do write an addendum with your memories of him or extra biographical details.
William Wallace Craig was educated at the Bluecoat Hospital (school), Liverpool and joined Barings there on 24 September 1889, earning £19.10 shillings in his first year (£19.50). According to John Orbell "This was an interesting time as it was the year Barings nearly went bust". Just 5 years later he was getting £60 a year and after 10 years his salary had risen to £105. While in Liverpool he was receiving notes from many correspondents around the world on the trade in many commodities - cotton, copper, tinplate etc. etc., which would inform his decisions for the bank later on in London.
A letter from 1a India Buildings, Liverpool sent to the London HQ in 1903 includes "Mr Craig to whom I have communicated what you propose doing for him, is very grateful for the opportunity thus offered him of improving his position".
Thus he joined 8 Bishopsgate on the 10 October 1904 as 'English Correspondence(sic) and Insurance' and transferred to the Credit Department the next year. (1904 was also the year he married Fanny Simpson Mackinnon.)
On the 27 July 1911 both WWC and Alexander Robertson Craig (his brother) signed a Power of Attorney for ARC, which was impressed with a Foreign Office stamp and registered at that office on 1 August. (presumably this was before ARC went on diplomatic duties abroad?)
From 29 February 1912 to 1 March 1913 he was on sick leave (presumably for TB?) and there is an account of his medical expenses which the bank paid.
| Own doctor's account for 7 weeks in bed at home £ 6 |
| 34 weeks at Frimley Sanatorium @ 30/- (£1.50) £51 |
| Extra nursing £ 5 |
| Sundry expenses for travelling, appliances & extras £11.10.0 |
| 11 weeks at Pinewood Sanatorium @ £2.2.0 (£2.10) £23.02.0 |
| Appliances, drugs, travelling, extras £8.08.0 |
| Specialists' fees 2 consultations @ £2.2.0 |
| 4 consultations @ £1.1.0 £ 8.8.0 Total £113.8.0 |
At the beginning of October 1918 he succeeded A. Bowden Smith as Principal in the Commercial Credit Department and his salary was now £550. During the 1920s there is much correspondence with trading companies in New York and Boston and he sailed for America in September 1925. (According to John Orbell there are files archived which include details of his trip, but I ran out of time to investigate them - another time perhaps.)
A letter to WWC from Boston, dated 21 May 1926, includes "One of my friends has made arrangements to leave here about a month from now to play some of the English and Scottish golf courses but is somewhat disturbed by the newspaper reports of conditions in England just now following your general strike, fearing that he may arrive in England only to find himself 'fighting for food' as he expresses it…". The reply from WWC says that train services are reduced by coal shortages but there is no material dislocation of food supplies. He fears the situation "may drag on for some weeks yet".
During all this time WWC was receiving notes and corresponding with people literally all over the world - about cotton, wool, sugar (Cuba, Hungary), timber (West Africa and elsewhere), leather and hides, cocoa, machinery, mining, South American railways (Argentina), and USA, Denmark, Poland, Africa - west and south, Czechoslovakia, Germany, China, France. All this gave him the knowledge on which to make decisions for the Bank on whether a proposal would be good business or represent unacceptable risk. It is clear that he made many major decisions himself rather than having to refer to someone more senior.
In August 1929 (salary £1,850) he was taken ill again, this time appendicitis, and operated on. It was noted he was 'doing quite well' and was expected back in mid-October at the earliest.
In 1932 a letter to WWC from a W McCarron mentions that WWC gave him a letter of introduction to his brother in Tokyo and that he had met him many times at the Embassy.
A letter from H Otto of the Nederlandische Bank voor Zuid Africa, with whom he often corresponded, arrived from Hamburg dated 7 August 1933. This asked WWC to assist a Dr Hans Waldstein - a jewish lawyer no longer allowed to carry on his business ('Bill of Law' sic). The letter says he has decided to become a merchant, especially as relations in the USA have a very large corn and grain business. It continues "I may mention that your daughter Miss Maisie met once in our house the aforementioned gentleman. He is of good character and far over the average clever." WWC replied on the 9th (just two days later), offering to help in any way whilst he is in London.
Letters from European countries frequently arrived with WWC the day after posting and were replied to, typed by a secretary or handwritten presumably by him, that day or the next. Notes on file, marked Strictly Confidential, relate to a Westinghouse Contract for brakes for the Polish State Railway.
In 1934 he received a parcel of sperm whale teeth from Messrs P H Mattiessen & Co of Pilgrim Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne (no longer in existence). They had been sent on the SS Blenheim. "They are desired by my son Dr D M Craig merely as anatomical specimens". He offered to pay any duty demanded and gave The Haynings as the address for delivery (Dan's home in Framlingham, Suffolk). Later the same day he wrote again asking for the teeth to be delivered to him and he would send them on. He wrote to H Sorenson in Sandefjord, Norway "…just what I wanted as specimens…greatly obliged also for the two fine polished teeth which will form handsome souvenirs". He commented that the Directors "…much admired them but do not at present desire to receive any sperm whale teeth". The Directors wondered whether they could be considered a commercial product and what the cost of importing a quantity - a few score or few hundred - would be. (Are any still in the family, I wonder?)
He retired on 30 September 1938, with a pension of £1,233.6.8, which rose to £1,513 in 1941 and in 1946 a Supplementary Pension of £175 was awarded.
There are records at Barings of a number of other family members who worked there.
22 March 1891 - 3 June 1967 Aged 76
Employed at Barings 26 April 1909 to 30 June 1939
NOTE: these details do not tie in with Sarah's family tree of the Mackinnon branch. There is a sister of Fanny - Lucy Agnes, born 1881 - can anyone help?
Records show she had attended the Collegiate School for Girls, Muswell Hill and her address is given as 26 Elderton Road, Westcliff on Sea. "Father on staff of Standard Bank of S Africa. One brother in RMS Co." In 1910 she joined the Coupon Dept. at £52 p.a. and in 1922, on £250, she became joint head of it. In 1923 "given a present re Peruvian and Port of B A £10". In 1924 another, of £5 "re Denaby and Japanese" and in 1925 £5 "re Hungarian".
In 1928 she became sole head of the Coupon Dept. and retired on 30 June 1939 with a pension of £250 and a supplementary allowance of £50p.a.
15 April 1908 - 26 December 1975 Aged 67 Married 7 November 1957 - Mrs Hardy
Employed at Barings 4 May 1925 - 15 April 1958
Address given as 1 Northwick Circle, Kenton, Middlesex. "Daughter of John Alexander Craig, Clerk. Introduced by W W Craig.
Educated at Tollington High School, Muswell Hill." In 1928 she was in the Postal Gallery, becoming its head in 1940. She left to be married at the end of October 1957 and was placed on the retired list as from her 50th birthday the next year.
10 December 1908 - 12 January 1964
Employed at Barings 30 June 1930 until his death - aged 56
Address given as 69 Beddington Gardens, Wallington, Surrey. "Son of W W Craig of this office. Introduced by his father. Educated at Aldenham School".
He started in the Cash and Drafts Dept. and took and passed his Bankers Institute part 1 exams, completing them in 1935. In 1939 he was in the Stock Office and remained in the London Office on the outbreak of war. In 1941 he joined the R.A. (Royal Artillery) becoming a Lieutenant at LAA Bty in 1944. He appears to have been paid his salary by the Bank during these years. In 1946 he returned to 8 Bishopsgate. In 1955 he "fell on iced path and broke pelvis", developing pneumonia and was sick for 90 days. Then in 1959 he suffered hypertension and was off work for some weeks. He died from a heart attack at home, while still employed by the Bank in 1964.