I think in its hayday that the Shildon C.W.S. had about a hundred employees. Here is a photo of 29 of them taken in the fifties. Can anyone identify any of them ?

The only three I can put names to at the moment are :-
Centre Row :- left hand side = Mr. Akers ( farm manager).
centre (with glasses) = Mr. Harker ( he also played the organ at the Wesleyan chapel).
Top Row :- 5th in from left ( with glasses) = Mr.Bibby ( Manager)

Ken.

Last edited by Ken on 13 Apr 2008 10:46 am, edited 3 times in total.

I`ve since been informed that the photo was in fact taken at Bishop Auckland. Most of those in it are from Bishop store but there`s a handful from Shildon in it as well.
Ken.

I can`t seem to find the photographs of the Old Shildon CWS. I would like to find them as my late wife Rita Jeffries, worked in the grocery department in the early fifties.
I`ve tried right clicking the box and then properties , but all it shows is not available.
Anybody got any ideas ?

I`ll try to find the originals & re-upload them.
I knew your wife , Rita , by the way. A lovely lady. If my memory serves me right , she was slim with auburn hair. She would have worked with Mr.Brunskill and Peter Wright (our member Mysterio`s brother) I would imagine.

Ken.

Ken. spot on about Rita but she had light brown hair. Is Mysterio Peter Wrights younger brother ?. I remember Rita telling me about the “perks” in the grocery department, like taking the CWS cream crackers and cutting a slice of butter from the block and a slice of boiled ham from the leg, and making a rather thick sandwich. It seemed everybody did it.
I seem to remember a Ronnie somebody who I think used to go round the houses for grocery orders, a bit of a ladies man. Anybody remember him ?. I used to be friendly with Peter Wright and actually bought my first car from him. A 1938 Vauxhall 14 DX for the princely sum of £20. Six cylinder and ran like a Rolls Royce. This was in about 1955. How is Peter, did he ever get married ?.

My family remember the van going round the houses, does anyone remember John Thompson, Marjorie Wilkinson and Norman Sangster?

I was at school with a John Thompson and worked with a Norman Sangster after he returned from Australia.

In answer to your questions Chuckcha :-
1) Yes.Mysterio is Peter`s younger brother.
2)No.Peter never got married.
I remember the cream cracker sandwiches very well though. Before I started at I.C.I. , I used to work part-time at the Shildon C.W.S. —- potato packing, sugar weighing,butter cutting,helping deliver milk,delivering meat on a bike with huge basket on front,delivering groceries with a covered wagon & two horses,etc.,etc.
I believe your wife`s sister married another lad from the grocery department — David Dunn.

Ken.

Ken,
The girl who married Dave Dunn was Rita`s niece.they live in Raby Gardens at present. She was the daughter of Rita`s brother and sister in law who both died shortly after the last war finished
Dave is a bit poorly at the moment, but he`s coping. I did`nt know he worked at the Shildon shop.
Does anybody remember the `lamp oil man`who went round with a horse and cart selling household goods and paraffin from a steel tank on the back of his cart ?. I can`t remember his name (its me age ye know)
but he seemed to have a thriving business, I know he served both old and new Shildon

See PM`s I sent you Chuckcha.

Ken.

I remember Rita and Peter very well. Working at the grocery depatrment was my first job when I left school. In those days (early 60′s) we got Wednesday afternoons off. Peter and I would deliver meals on wheels to the elderly in and around Shildon. Bibby was the manager of the store, he interviewed me and employed me although it was Brunskill, the grocery Dept. manager who was my boss. David Dunn and Malcolm Potter were there at the same time as me. It all seems like a long time ago!

In answer to your questions Chuckcha :-
1) Yes.Mysterio is Peter`s younger brother.
2)No.Peter never got married.
I remember the cream cracker sandwiches very well though. Before I started at I.C.I. , I used to work part-time at the Shildon C.W.S. —- potato packing, sugar weighing,butter cutting,helping deliver milk,delivering meat on a bike with huge basket on front,delivering groceries with a covered wagon & two horses,etc.,etc.
I believe your wife`s sister married another lad from the grocery department — David Dunn.

Ken.[/quote] Was it Ronnie who drove the travelling shop?[/quote]

I seem to recall Rita having a beautiful head of auburn hair which was about shoulder length and commanded the attention of anyone who came into the store.

Admin has come up with a great idea to both catalogue memories of the Shildon C.W.S. and also to raise funds for the Shildon Peoples` Centre and I`ve agreed to help.
I`m starting the ball rolling with my own diary of a C.W.S. lad`s life through the forties , fifties and sixties.Please feel free to chip in as we progress but remember that this topic will be well edited before its final publication ( which Admin will explain ).
As a prelude I start at Willington with the war years — my vague memories as a toddler plus accounts from the letters I stiil have ,written between my Mother & my Father who was serving with the R.A.F. mainly in India.
PART 1 — The war years.
The C.W.S. was a socialist idealism & ,in general ,a good one at that.
However, to document all sides , like all idealistic ventures , it had its flaws –during the war , the emergence of smug “little Hitlers” was one of them.
Every couple of months was “Orange Day” — when some of our allies shipped in oranges.
They were allocated at one orange per person.
My Mum wheeled me almost two miles in the middle of winter to the C.W.S. to collect our oranges. She was told by the “temporary manager” that he had decided that he was only dealing with oranges in the afternoon & she would have to come back (she could see the boxes of oranges waiting to be distributed). She had to make the round trip again (making almost 8 miles in total — through the snow with a push-chair) to return in the afternoon & join a long queue.
Bear in mind that my Father at that time was actually an employee of that very C.W.S. branch — away serving his country.
We enjoyed the oranges though !

Ken.

Last edited by Ken on 28 Oct 2008 10:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Thanks Ken,
After looking at the response to this topic and the quiz on the CWS, which has attracted over 90,000 views, I offered the idea that we should encompass all of the contributions in a book.

The CWS or the Co-Op as it is now known is still here in Shildon, we have to have a starting point, and this seems to be around 1940 ish. We have material much older and will use this to enhance the story of the CWS in and around Shildon.

We still need articles about the seventies and eighties right up to the present day, remember the old Co-Op where the Market Square is today, although this was only the seventies and eighties this is still about the history of the Co-Op in the town.

Any members who have any experience of shopping at the Co-Op collecting their divi, please help by sharing them here.

Has anyone got photos of the 70′s 80′s 90′s and today.

Yes. I have. I`ll dig them out later.See also pics from Mackem & Wilf under “Photographs ,Shildon Only” –then “Shildon Co-op”.
In the meantime here`s Part 1 (The war years) continued …..
Another example of lack of sensitivity to those who`s husbands were away was a letter written to my Mother by the “stand-in” manager of the C.W.S.
It would appear that in those days staff had to buy their own uniforms,overalls,etc. This letter states that as my Father had been away for so long & as there was little chance of him returning in the near future , could they sell his brown coat ?
If I didn`t have my Mother`s letter , I would not have believed that ! 

Ken.

Last edited by Ken on 28 Oct 2008 02:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.

P.S. I also have all my Father`s letters written to my Mother during the war years.
I particularly like the replies to the above in which he states what he`s going to do with “little hitler” when he returns and what he`s going to do with his oranges ! 

Ken.

My Husband worked for the CO OP FROM 1952 TO 1954 He did deliveries with a horse and cart. When he was called up for national Service in 54 he was given a New testament by Mr Bibby,signed and wishing him well in the army. He still has it although we cannot lay our hands on right now.

Mr. Bibby was my Father.
I was too young to go out with your husband`s horse & cart in the years you mentioned but probably helped put up the orders. It was about 1957 when I first went out with the covered wagon & two horses.

Ken.

I remember your father very well, it was he that gave me my first job when I was 15 (1960) and enabled me to go to day release college at Bishop Auckland Technical College, which really gave me my start in life. It was he that introduced me to the Lake District when he took me there with his wife and one of his sons on a Bank Holiday trip in his car. I have been in love with the “Lakes” ever since.
I recall, as a young man, going into “the store” as it was affectionately called in our family, to collect the groceries clutching some food coupons which I handed over to the sales person along with some money to cover the difference. Some change was required so the coupons and the money along with the bill of sale was put into a container and screwed into a receiver which was attached to a wire which when pulled sent the container to the cashiers office, change was received in the same manner. Very clever.
Does anyone recall the conversion to self service in the grocery dept. to help in the competition for sales against those “upstarts” Fine Fare across the road?

It might be worth noting the origins of the CWS and the conditions which led to its formation.
The official ‘History of The Bishop Auckland Industrial Co-operative Flour and Provision Society Ltd., 1860-1910′ offers some information on this.
It tells us of the dreadful conditions to which workers in the early 19th century were subjected :
“Wages during that time were low and employment scarce and precarious, so that the conditions of the wage-earning classes was reduced in all ways, even to the verge of starvation. Bread riots broke out in various places and seething discontent, verging on revolt, was to be found eveywhere, the people being only kept down by the constabulary and the military forces of the country, under a set of barbarous laws administered with unmitigated rigour”
“By the ‘Assessment of Wages Act’ the wages of labour in each district were fixed by the Justices of the Peace for that district. These were chiefly wealthy capitalists or landowners, who fixed the rates in their own interests, and so low were they in some instances that they had to be eked out by contributions from the Poor Rates.
“By the ‘Combination Laws’, labourers were prohibited from coming together to discuss their interests, or agitate for the betterment of their conditions. By the ‘Settlement Acts’ workmen were prohibited from migrating from one district to another, where better conditions prevailed; and the only outlet for whatever public spirit might exist, was through lawless acts and revolutionary methods”.
The French Revolution was the catalyst to workers efforts across Europe to improve their lot and in this country some of the Laws and Acts were eventually repealed – opening the way for the formation of Trade Unions.
The Society itself was originally established by twenty-eight weavers in Rochdale, who were so poor at the time they could only muster the sum of 2d per week towards their objective.

Steve wrote:I remember your father very well, it was he that gave me my first job when I was 15 (1960) and enabled me to go to day release college at Bishop Auckland Technical College, which really gave me my start in life. It was he that introduced me to the Lake District when he took me there with his wife and one of his sons on a Bank Holiday trip in his car. I have been in love with the “Lakes” ever since.

Yes. The son was my Brother , Peter & the car you travelled in with my Mum & Dad was a Triumph Herald.

Ken.

Hi Wilf the 28 weavers you speak of were know as The Rocdale Pioneers who, I think, made an alliance with the Tolpuddle Martyrs.
I have attached an URL for ref.
History Rocdale Pioneers http://sthweb.bu.edu/shaw/anna-howard-s … e_Pioneers
The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers was a group of 28 weavers and other artisans in Rochdale, England, that was formed in 1844. As the mechanization of the Industrial Revolution was forcing more and more skilled workers into poverty, these tradesmen decided to band together to open their own store selling food items they could not otherwise afford. With lessons from prior failed attempts at co-operation in mind, they designed the now famous Rochdale Principles, and over a period of four months they struggled to pool together one pound sterling per person for a total of 28 pounds of capital. On 21 December 1844, they opened their store with a very meager selection of butter, sugar, flour, oatmeal and a few candles. Within three months, they expanded their selection to include tea and tobacco, and they were soon known for providing high quality, unadulterated goods. Ten years later, the British co-operative movement had grown to nearly 1,000 co-operatives.

The Pioneers’ original store on Toad Lane was sold in 1867 and but it was later re-purchased by the movement, and opened as a museum in 1931.[3][4] The museum resurrected the legal name Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society in 1989, the name having been abandoned by the original co-operative in 1976 on merger with the Oldham Co-operative.[5][4]

Sorry for the typo it should be Rochdale Pioneers.

Thanks for that Steve.  Hadn’t realized there was that much info. available .
I think it’s worth mentioning that Shildon was a major player in the founding of Bishop Co-op.
As Mackem informed us in an earlier post, Bishop Co-op was actually ‘born’ in the National Schoolroom, Shildon, on February 25th, 1860. This was later converted to a joinery and was eventually purchased by the Co-op to form part of the premises of the Shildon Branch.
In order to raise funds it was agreed that, to become a member, each person must pay one shilling entrance fee and take up one £1 share, and that no member could take up more than one share. This was to ensure that none of the better-off members could buy extra shares and thereby exert greater influence on matters.
Initially, a provisional committee of seven was appointed, which included three members from Shildon :-
Thomas Gardiner ( Shildon ) – Treasurer.
John Tinkler ( Shildon ) – Director.
Peter Marlow ( New Shildon ) – Director.
The others were :-
John Henderson ( Eldon Lane ) – Secretary.
Richard Morley ( Eldon Lane ) – Director.
John Simpson ( Gurney Valley ) – Director.
James Little ( Gurney Valley ) – Director.
At this historic meeting, 63 members were enrolled, who paid their entrance fees and affiliated themselves with the Society on this date.

Many thanks Steve & Wilf for reminding us of this history.
However,bear in mind the fact that we can only use our own contributions in Admin`s proposed book so its largely our own memories(+ those of friends & relatives),photos & titbits of local Shildon C.W.S. info that we are after.
Also when quoting from existing literature please be aware of copyright laws.
Check copyright status,state the title of the work and ISBN number and make sure that reference & credit is always given to the publisher and author.

Ken.

Yes, thanks for the reminder Ken.  However, in this instance the book is almost 100 yrs old and makes no claim to copyright.
Wilf.

PART 3 – Early post war days.
My Father started off as a junior grocery hand & worked at many branches of the C.W.S. — Willington, Hunwick , Dean Bank ,etc. as he worked his way up to becoming manager of Shildon.
In those early post war years I used to look forward to him coming home with all sorts of useful scrap from the C.W.S.
We made home-made skis from butter barrel slats , the hoops were ideal for playing “stick and hoop”, shields were fashioned from the barrel ends , etc. but most coveted were the wooden egg boxes , measuring about 4ft x 18 inches. They made an ideal chasis for a bogey — a nightmare for Dad to bring home on the bus though !

Ken.

Part 4 — The early fifties.
Many things about the Shildon C.W.S. fascinated me in the early fifties & some seemed quite innovative for that era.
“The Store” ,as it was commomly known, had a huge central heating system in those days when central heating was a rarity.
My Father used to get up at the crack of dawn to stoke the enormous boiler which heated the water flowing through the 6″ diameter pipes throughout the store.
The cashier`s Lamson pneumatic system and the Lamson rapid wire system was a marvel & caused a few accidents when the bottom half of the traveller parted company mid journey.
The waste disposal systems consisted of a large incinerator in the store yard and a horse & cart to take the non-combustibles to the tip half way down Busty Bank.
Then there was the fridge. It was so big you could get a horse & cart in there.

Ken.

Last edited by Ken on 07 Dec 2008 12:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

My mother use to be one of the manager’s of the CWS dry cleaning business. She started at the Shildon branch on Church Street then went on to look after the shops at Spennymoor, Tow Law, Willington, Crook and Newton Aycliffe.

Regards Dodgy

I have just completely re-read this topic, it is just one example of the excellent contributions from Ken that have proven so popular over the years.

Ken we never got the book together 

Wow! You`ve just reminded me as well. You`re right– forgot all about the book. Also just realised that I`d only got up to the early fifties. Must find the time to continue this one.

Ken.

Ken,

Was the bike in the first image yours?

If so tell us more about it please.

Regards

Alan

Yes. It was my pride and joy. It was a 350cc single cylinder B.S.A. B31.

Ken.

Part 5 — The Late Fifties.
As well as the unusual heating system, Lanson lines and fridge mentioned above in Part 4 , there was a very dodgy lift