Sheldon opened in the suburbs of Birmingham in 1963. There is very little information on the opening of the branch, except that an application was made for an off-licence in 1964.
The branch ceased trading on 29th January 1983, with many Partners saying goodbye to a firm set of friends as well as colleagues. Partners at Sheldon were intent on setting up an annual reunion, as the branch had had an active social life – one of its last social activities raised money for a local children’s hospital.
Branch Manager of Sheldon, Mr D J Irwin said that “Partners have shown high morale and committment in the lead up to closure.”
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I never worked in this store but Derek Wilson (my husband at the time) worked there in The Meat Room. It was a lovely store with very friendly and hardworking partners! Derek and I lived in the flat above the store, which can be seen in the photo, from 1973-1977. We had such fun times with loads of parties, inviting friends from lots of local stores (Hall Green, where I worked, and Washwood Heath) plus many more!! Happy days!! Thank you Waitrose!!!!
Excerpts from the Waitrose Chronicle 9th August 1969: John Snow visits Sheldon. ‘It is a biggish branch employing about 100 people, just over half of whom are part time. After a slowish start to trade our folk there have steadily increased their turnover until now they are finding themselves very busy indeed. John McLaughlan, Deputy Branch Manager joined the Partnership in 1962 but has been in the grocery trade all his life, for his family owned a store near Stranraer. In the Butchery Cyril Partridge, Meat Manager, was wielding a skilful knife. We spoke of word-of-mouth advertising, and how surprisingly successful it can be. Mr Mitchell Gall, Warehouse Manager, joined not so long ago after ten years in the Navy. Mrs Joan Griffiths, checkout manager, is local to the area while Mrs Nellie Carter, Non-Food Manager, comes from North London. Malcolm Griffiths, Greengrocery Manager, said that deliveries have improved since they were mentioned in Committee for Communication in June. Sheldon seems to be a happy branch, as is every other branch, although they vary from one another: Some lines are different from those in London – Sheldon were the first to try evening shelf filling. A nice story from Sheldon: On Wednesday 13th August 1969, seven or eight Partners took a party of 47 children to Trentham Gardens for a day’s outing. Each Partner devoted a day off to the occasion, and the money was raised by donations from those at the branch over a period of three months or so. The children were all orphaned or from broken homes.
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