75 years in the Partnership: Memories of 2012

Working Partners, retired Partners and customers alike were invited to mark Waitrose’s 75 years in the Partnership

The anniversary on 1 October 2012 saw the launch of two projects: the Waitrose Memory Store, in which many retired Partners are involved; and the 75th Anniversary Tree Planting Project

75th Anniversary Tree Planting Project

The tree planting enabled all 50,000 Waitrose Partners to take part in commemorating the anniversary. A fund was set up to give the equivalent of £7.50 per Partner across the business so that each branch and team could decide how and where to plant their trees. “There is something iconic about planting a tree,” said Quentin Clark, Head of Sustainability & Ethical Sourcing. “It’s a permanent symbol of longevity and planning for the future.

Something we do well in the Partnership. We already plant trees with the Woodland Trust to absorb the carbon produced by Waitrose.com home deliveries, so planting trees to mark this anniversary are a marvellous thing to do for the environment, for biodiversity and just to create great woodland to walk in.”

The Memory Store

The Memory Store has been created with the aim of making Waitrose’s heritage available to as many Partners as possible. The building of the website coincided with the 75th anniversary, and includes memories, photos, stories, interviews, articles and comments about working life at Waitrose.  The Heritage Services team  coordinated the project, working with a team of Partners and retired Partners who were the site researchers and editors. Retired Partner volunteers included Tony Baker, Pam Kenworthy, Carol Hill, Linda Dennett and Caroline Matthews, assisted by working Partners Jo Hammerton, Sian Cleary and Linda Moroney.

It was hoped that Partners, retired Partners and customers would add their memories and images of Waitrose to build the resource. “The Memory Store is a great opportunity to get everyone to contribute,” says Heritage Services Manager, Judy Faraday. “The contributions everyone makes help Partners working in the business today understand how Waitrose has grown and the people and events that have been so important in the past. We hope the site will be of interest to customers, too.”

Judy adds that the site can be used to post photographs of social events, outings or anything else that retired Partners feel is interesting. It can also be used for reminiscence therapy, and to let friends and relatives who may not have any knowledge of what a Waitrose branch is like to become more involved.

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