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McGoldrick was Philip Joseph McGoldrick, 1921-1981.
Many happy memories of the High Bay warehouse , I was there from 1974 . The system was regarded as the best available and I particularly remember the groups of visitors that regularly came round what we called the catwalk , a walk around above the selection floor , especially the Asian visitors who enjoyed taking many photos. Moved on to Detail Store and then 32 years in Operations/ Goods Receiving office .
I can remember it so well. I was a young mother on a limited housekeeping budget. My friend and I would push our pushchairs down to this Branch on a Friday as we had our housekeeping that day. We would carefully select items for the weekend as Dinner parties were the entertainment for weekends in those days! We could only afford a few elite items but we just loved the staff, quality and gentility then (and still do)! We were delighted if someone asked where we had obtained a certain product and we could say “Waitrose”! How life has changed. But Waitrose has not! Quality, selection and lovely staff! They still have edge long may it continue. My one wish? Please open up in Northern Ireland as I live here now. I have to bring the car twice a year to shop! Not only for myself but friends and neighbours.
I’m happy to hear that our Partners in Cheltenham looked after you. I have forwarded your feedback to the branch. Store feedback can be submitted here: https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/help-information/customer-service/forms/store-feedback
Thank you – fixed!
Hi Interesting article. I know that I’m a numerical pedant, so I must point out that a very minor correction needs to be made to the line reading Yearly dividend of 7½% on 20 Shares30/- (i.e. 5% or one-twentieth of £20).
It should read “Yearly dividend of 7½% on 20 Shares30/- (i.e. 5% or one-twentieth of £30).”
Does any one remember Mr clarridge branch manager and Mr coppen his deputy branch from around about 1973 to 1976 I was 16 when I joined the partnership working in groceries then provisions
I shopped with you this afternoon. I was impressed by the service especially in your cafe. I wanted to say how helpful and attentive my waitress was but I can’t use your complicated system. I suggest you change it to something simpler! Thank you.
Thank you for your comment Dave – really interesting!
In the late 1970s when still at school, in the 6th form, I had an evening job cleaning the in Waitrose warehouse in Bracknell. The whole place was automated with stock stored vertically in the enormous and scarily dark stock hall.
Picking cranes would move to the a column then go up the right level to get items.
It was all controlled via a big noisy room of mechanical relays and an adjacent quiet computer room. Huge hard disk drives and computer punch tape made the whole room feel like a set from a James Bond film.
I had a floor buffer and I would whizz it around the floors.
One evening I was in the computer room and having buffed one half of the floor I needed to get around to the other side. A trolley with a printer was in the way of the heavy mains cable, so instead of taking a few steps to lift the cable over the trolley I gave it a quick skipping rope type flick over it.
The action made the cable jump nicely over the trolley as planned, but as always when creating waves along a rope, the oscillation continued to the end to which was attached a plug that was in turn plugged into a wall socket.
This all happened in a second. There was a short sharp bang and everything went bang!
Then there was silence.
No whirring or humming in the computer room. No noisy clicking of relays next door.
I’d shut down the whole warehouse. 🤦♂️
I didn’t do that again.
But I did save up and bought my first acoustic 12-string from the music shop at Amen Corner, (yes, it was a place).
Derrick Baughan can you recall the names of the warehouse guys ? Keith or Dave Goodman long blonde hair often wondered what happened to some of these people
Fond memories of 120 where I worked for twelve months as assistant meat manager under Cyril Partridge. I was then promoted to relief meat manager for the midlands and was then based at 122 Hall Green and eventually took over as meat manager at that store. I remember most of the partners mentioned by others and worked 34 years for Waitrose.
Hello Phaedra. Yes I am happy to help if I can, although as I mentioned below some of the information I have is not easily readable. If the volunteer could email me directly we can try to work out what might be relevant to their research and the best method to communicate it. Kind regards.
Hi Monica – thank you for your comment, that’s really interesting. We have a volunteer keen to do a better Waite family tree, so would be really delighted to receive copies of the information you mention, if you would be happy to do so. Phaedra, JLP archivist
Ref the request for info below from Iain Waite, WW Waite was my great uncle too and I am shown on the bottom line of the family tree above. I have a full page copy of the above tree linking back to William the Conqueror and also a fuller (somewhat illegible) hand written version linking to George Herbert etc. I also have some info and photos on WW Waite’s parents and siblings e.g. Charles Partridge Waite (my grandfather), Lilian and Elsie, plus info on more recent generations. But that would probably need to be pursued outside this forum on the Waitrose story.
Hi Colin, the picture of Jill and Joyce did bring a tear to my eye. Jill is my late mother. Did you know them? I would love to hear some stories about life back then, I know my mum had an idyllic childhood and I have some memories of the cottage in Leckford before my Grandmother passed away many years ago. I think the paddling Pool picture is my uncle and mother. I wonder if you knew my grandfather Les as well?
That brings back memories. Weekend job there in the early seventies. Worked in the white house above, the deli counter and checkouts. All to fund a motorbike and nights out at the Cali, Wheatsheaf and Queensway Civic Hall. I remember Mr Willets and Mr Humphries and a few other names like Penny French and Jo ???. Great people.
As I recall, none of the actual branch management team or Regional HR team appeared in the Gumm Busters… all the Busters were shop floor partners or trainee managers. Ruth was Regional HR at the time I believe.
Thank you for your comment. I have corrected the errors. Inconsistencies in style are due to the fact that this is a longterm project (over 10 years now) which is supported by an army of wonderful volunteers with a variety of writing styles.
There was a Kinghams in the Market Square in Chesham for around 40 years – from circa 1920 to 1960.
I’m doing the WAITE family tree if anyone is interested. Looking for more info regarding Wallace and his siblings Cyril (my grandfather), Harry, William, Robert, John, Lillian, Bertram, Charles, Adolphus, Elsie, Gertrude and others I may be forgetting…plus living children and grandchildren.
Three minor points.
1) The caption for the photo of the store is wrong. As the article correctly notes, the address was 263, not 261. You can see the number on the door. You might want to crop out the misleading 261, which is the address of the shop next door, which appears to have sold clocks.
2) A couple of paragraphs later, you write: “David Taylor left the business in 1906 and 1908, Waite and Rose formed a private limited company….” This apparently should be two sentences: “David Taylor left the business in 1906. In 1908, Waite and Rose formed a private limited company…”
3) You are inconsistent on the use of “Mr” with surnames. I like it better when you use them, but the sudden switching back and forth in the next to last paragraph is jarring.
Thank you Christopher. A very important write-up of a time that was so surreal that we already have to remind ourselves what we lived through. Phaedra
Thank you for your comment. Mr Taylor left in 1906 and returned to his former employ at Messrs Coopers. After this date he no longer appears in our archives, but he does pop up in google searches, eg on this page: https://www.aroundealing.com/history/waitroses-acton-origins/
