Bank of England "white notes" — unprinted on the reverse, hand-dated, and hand-signed at the counter — were never intended for general public circulation. The £20 denomination served primarily wholesale and interbank settlement functions; most examples passing through commercial channels rather than retail hands. Catterns held the Chief Cashier post from 1929 to 1934, placing his signed examples in a narrow window of the broader 1870–1943 series run.
The entire white note series was withdrawn and demonetized in 1945, two years after issue ceased, specifically to counter the large-scale forgery operation run by the SS under Operation Bernhard.
Bank of England "white notes" — unprinted on the reverse, hand-dated, and hand-signed at the counter — were never intended for general public circulation. The £20 denomination served primarily wholesale and interbank settlement functions; most examples passing through commercial channels rather than retail hands. Catterns held the Chief Cashier post from 1929 to 1934, placing his signed examples in a narrow window of the broader 1870–1943 series run.
The entire white note series was withdrawn and demonetized in 1945, two years after issue ceased, specifically to counter the large-scale forgery operation run by the SS under Operation Bernhard.