Page 4 - Town & Around - September 2024

4 Town & Around September 2024 Tel: 01485 540620 email: editor@townandaround.net
‘Last branch standing’ celebrates 40th birthday

This is the story of Nationwide in Hunstanton
party was held at the Nationwide in
Greevegate on 31st July. It was a
Adouble celebration in that the branch
had been open for 40 years and Branch
Manager, Gary Hubbard, had completed 40
years of service on 30th July.
In the 1980s there were many small, local
building societies. The Northampton based
Anglia Building Society was expanding, and
it decided that Hunstanton was the place to be.
When the Hunstanton branch opened its
doors in 1984, things were very different;
Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister,
Frankie goes to Hollywood and Wham were
in the charts, The Bill hit our TV screens for
the first time, and the average house price was
£31,076.
The Anglia merged with Nationwide in
1987 and for a while the name above the door
was Nationwide Anglia. It became
Nationwide a few years later but throughout
the changes, the venue at 18 Greevegate has
remained. From left: Kieran Raines, Chrissy Gotts, Gary Hubbard,
New recruit Gary Hubbard, fresh from Mayor of Hunstanton Michael Ruston and Lisa Reed
college, started work on 30th July 1984 and Gary said: “We may look different from “Also, we have just extended again our
in his 40 years he’s worked at twelve locations when we first opened but our warm and branch promise that everywhere we have a
across East Anglia, some on more than one friendly welcome is still the same. branch, we’ll still be there until at least the
occasion. He moved to Hunstanton for the “I am proud to be the Branch Manager of start of 2028.”
second time in March 2023 and manages the Nationwide in Hunstanton where we are the The branch opening times are: Monday 9-
team of Lisa Reed, Kieran Raines and Chrissy ‘last branch standing’ as all other financial 4:30, Wednesday 10-4:30, Thursday 9-4:30,
Gotts.
institutions have deserted the town. and Saturday 9-12 noon.
Hunstanton RNLI made One Moment for One

Crew picture with minutes to spare

uniforms.
With only 10 minutes to go, pagers sounded
so the assembled crew ran back to the
boathouse to get into their dry suits, and the
wellies were cleared to make way for a launch.
A spokesperson at the station said: “Two
minutes later, the 'shout' was cancelled. With
nine minutes remaining, the wellies were
hurriedly re-deployed, while more than 50
volunteers lined up as the drone buzzed sky-
wards.”
Anjie Rook, RNLI Associate Director, who
is overseeing the charity’s 200th anniversary
programme, said: “We have encouraged
anyone who has some form of involvement
with the RNLI to participate in this special
One Moment for One Crew photographic
event, to capture a record of everyone who, at
this moment in time, is playing some part in
the RNLI’s lifesaving work, continuing its
t is said that a picture is worth a thousand stations to take a photo on 1.8.24 at 18:24. legacy and securing its future.
words, and here a picture taken by former Hunstanton Lifeboat Station’s preparations “One Moment for One Crew is very much
ILifeboat crew member Pete Naylor does for the ‘One Moment for One Crew’ picture about celebrating the people of today’s RNLI
just that. on Hunstanton beach included wellies and, we hope, inspiring those future
We’ve reported over recent months the carefully arranged to spell out the number 200 generations who will take the RNLI into its
200th Anniversary of the RNLI. Founded in on the sand, the Lifeboat and Hovercraft in third century of lifesaving.”
1824, the institution had asked all the RNLI position and crew dressed in their formal Photo: Pete Naylor/RNLI