Sad news. I opened an account with Gieves as an RN cadet at Dartmouth in 1971. I fed it £5 per month until the minimum input was raised to £10 or £15 per month some years later. I kept the account in credit and Gieves paid me a decent rate of interest (subsequently renamed “discount against future purchases”) each month. This allowed me to buy the occasional new uniform, replacement ‘light frame’ cap and even a dinner jacket when needed without going into debt.
I only cancelled my account, and was reimbursed my healthy balance creditor, when Gieves closed their premises at Gunwharf Quays (formerly HMS VERNON) in Portsmouth, after moving from The Hard, and it became necessary to trek to their nearest branch in Winchester.