The movement was created in March 1916 as the National Savings Committee and this was supplemented by volunteer local committees and paid civil servants. A number of different organisations were loosely affiliated to make up the movement, including the Trustees Savings Banks and National Savings (previously the Post Office Savings Bank).
By 1946, the movement employed 1190 civil servants at an annual cost of £1.5 million, excluding unpaid volunteers. The amount raised by the movement at that time was £105,000 per week compared with £5 million in 1943.[2]
According to a parliamentary answer, in 1950 there were about 185,000 local National Savings groups with a membership of about 7,000,000. The amount of small savings invested was over £6,100 million. The Trustee Savings Banks funds had reached £1,000 million.[3]
On 30 March 1966, a ceremony was held at the London Guildhall to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the movement, which was attended by Queen Elizabeth II.[4]
On 30 July 1976, the government announced that all 580 civil servants who supported the otherwise voluntary movement would be withdrawn over two years as part of public spending cuts. Without this administrative support the movement was unable to function, and its National Committee met for the last time on 16 February 1978. Attempts to restructure the movement into a more general money management service had failed because of a lack of financial support from the government and the banking industry.[5]