RBS remembers the First World War with the launch of new website exploring how the war affected our banks, staff and customers

On the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War, RBS is launching a new website exploring how the war affected our banks, staff and customers.

Edinburgh, Scotland, 5-8-2014 — /EuropaWire/ — The RBS Remembers 1914-1918 website is an online resource for schools, community groups and members of the public who are interested in finding out how our constituent banks (the 30 banks that became part of the bank we are today) played their part in one of the costliest conflicts in history.

During the last three years RBS archivists have examined more than 5,000 items in our heritage collections to uncover stories of how RBS and its constituent banks coped and contributed during the First World War. The site includes sections on:

• Banking in wartime – exploring the business of banking during the war and the changing needs of our customers.
• Our people – containing wartime accounts from our staff who served in the armed forces and those who stayed behind.
• Aftermath and legacy – examining the after-effects of the war.
• Our Fallen – an online memorial to 1,582 men from our banks who died on military service during the First World War.

The RBS Remembers 1914-1918 website also includes information about the banking crisis that heralded the war, why RBS banknotes became legal tender for the first time and how women joined the banking workforce.You can add comments and messages of remembrance to the website and if your wartime ancestors had a connection with one of our banks, the RBS Archives team would like to hear from you.

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An employee of our constituent Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Co. on a wartime visit to his old office in King Street, Manchester.