The memory of a young woman murdered while working at a bank in Ham will be preserved when the bank shuts this summer.

Barclays in Ham, to close in June, is home to a commemorative plaque that pays tribute to 20-year-old Angela Woolliscroft, an employee from Chessington who was shot and killed by an armed robber on November 10, 1976.

But the bank, which commemorates the tragedy each year with flowers, said it would keep her memory alive.

Some feared that when Barclays leaves on June 27 to make way for Sainsbury’s, the plaque displayed on the wall in the bank would leave with it. There is also a memorial bench outside the bank.

Councillor David Williams, ward member for Ham and Petersham, said: “Thirty-eight years ago a brave young woman was shot on Ham Parade while serving the local community and her employer.

“We haven’t forgotten Angela Woolliscroft and I will be demanding that Barclays don’t either. “If they go ahead with their cynical decision to close our last local bank, the community in Ham will demand proper respect for the memory of their former employee.”

The teller was fatally wounded by a shotgun and died on the way to hospital.

Two months later, after a huge police operation, Michael Hart was arrested, put on trial, and sentenced to life imprisonment in November 1977.

A Barclays spokesman said: “We are determined that there will continue to be a fitting memorial to Angela Woolliscroft and have already met with Angela’s relatives to discuss the most appropriate place for the memorial plaque to be moved to once the Ham branch closes.

“Angela was a very popular and valued member of staff and is sadly missed to this day.”

Some people feel the loss of Barclays, the final bank in Ham, will be a blow for traders who will have to travel into Richmond or Kingston to access banking facilities.

An ATM will remain in Ham Parade.