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TRANSCRIPT
JSjournal February/65
House magazine of J Sainsbury Ltd
SP^WI 'V I
contents cios 2 Own Brands
8 News and Developments
16 How to Get the Best out of Hotels
19 Match Sticks and Match Men
23 Parsley for Vice-President
24 Some Like it HOT
26 Retirements and Weddings
28 Staff News
Mr. J. D. Sainsbury discusses in the following article one of the most interesting developments in retail trading in recent years. From a handful, JS Lines have increased in number to several hundreds. Our article in answering three questions about this increase explains the firm's policy on own name brands. It is a policy which made it possible for JS Lines to make a useful contribution recently in helping to keep down food prices.
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From the 1920's comes this own brand pineapple tin label.
So many changes have taken place in the pattern of our trade in recent years that sometimes the extent of particular developments are not realised. One of the greatest changes we have seen in the past few years has been the growth of what we call "JS Lines". Only a few years ago our own Blackfriars factory producing sausages and pies was almost the only source of our 'own lines' apart from basic commodities such as prepacked butter, tea and coffee. Before the war, we sold some own brand products under names such as "Crelos" and "Laibon" (margarine), "Selsa" (packet
groceries) and "Basket" brand (canned fruit). Probably only a few of our customers realised that they were really Sainsbury names and after the war we decided to abandon these different brands in favour of using our own name. Now several hundred JS lines are stocked, extending over practically our entire range of commodities, including even our own brand household goods in those branches where non-foods are sold. From the photograph you can see something of the extent and range of JS Lines. Almost all these lines are produced for us rather than by us. The
notable exceptions of course being sausages, pies, cooked meats and JS bacon from our Blackfriars and Haverhill factories. Why do we have so many JS lines ? To put it at its simplest, the answer to this question is because our customers have shown they want them. The reason they are so popular is that, in all cases, we ensure that we are offering our customers, under our own name, something which they cannot get in any other way. Either the price is lower or the quality is better than other "national" brands - or often both. This, in essence, is a simple enough formula for success. But of course there is more to it than that. In the first place JS lines, however good value, would never have achieved such rapid success if it were not for the reputation for quality and value we have built up over a great many years. Our reputation has given our customers confidence to try our own brand lines even against the very powerful advertising of the most famous national brands. Having once tried, the public are not slow to take advantage of the savings which our own brands offer. We have even found in many instances our customers are more willing to try new lines under our label than they are new proprietary lines bearing even the most famous brand names. How do we organise the purchasing and control of the many lines that bear our name ? The first point is, that even greater skill is required to organise our own lines than is needed to buy similar national branded lines. We have to ensure that our manufacturers have suitable facilities for producing the product we want, from quality, quantity and cost points of view. That means factories that are up to date in standards of cleanliness and hygiene, and have built into the production system a degree of quality control that satisfies us that the chances of error or mistake affecting the product are reduced to an absolute minimum. Therefore the task of organising the purchase of own lines is a complex one and demands not only a great deal of work and research by the Buying departments
V
:"" .... " :
Quality control of JS lines is exacting and thorough. Biscuit buyer Mr. S. T. Eastwood is examining one of a sample lot of JS cream crackers. From every biscuit delivery samples are taken to be examined by the buyer for flavour, crispness and appearance. On the next page soft drinks buyer Mr. P. Falconer is tasting our Bitter Lemon. Deliveries are sampled and all soft drinks compared for
4
colour and flavour with standards agreed with our suppliers. At the top of the page is Mr. H. Brownhill a bakery technologist with JS laboratory who works in close cooperation with our buyers. Every day he inspects and samples deliveries of cakes. Baked goods can be judged to a great extent by shape and volume which give an experienced judge a clue to faults in preparation.
Lower photograph is of Mr. C. McGinn (left) and Mr. C. F. Monty both of JS laboratory. Mr. McGinn visits (usually with the JS buyer) the factories of suppliers, makes suggestions for alterations where necessary in hygiene or quality control.
concerned but also the very active participation by Laboratory and technical staff who are concerned not only in seeing that the quality of the product is right in all respects, but that the plant on which it is produced meets our standards of cleanliness and efficiency. This whole process involves the buyers making very careful comparisons of the JS product with all brands that are on the market, comparing for example, costs per ounce of our product with others, as well as keeping an uninterrupted watch on developments taking place in rival branded lines. Apart from the quality control that we insist must be carried out by the manufacturer or packer, we have our own checking system at Blackfriars that is carried out by both Buying departments and the Laboratory.
Once the lines have been developed the package has to be designed. Great care goes into the design of JS labels. As readers of previous issues of JS Journal will know the job is done in our studio at Blackfriars. It is often a more complicated task than would be expected. For example, designs may have to be done within very severe limitations - perhaps the printing can only cover a small area of the pack; the number or type of colours may be very limited whilst, in some cases, legal requirements concerning sizes of lettering have to be complied with.
What will the future development be In our "own line" merchandise? Recently we have seen the successful formula on our own brands being applied to a wide range of non-foods so that we now outsell many of the leading proprietary brands in a range of goods that until recently we did not sell at all. It is dangerous to be too precise about long term developments in the world of retailing, but it is obviously one's duty to try to anticipate change. I think it unlikely that the growth of own brands will suddenly cease but, on the other hand, the rate of expansion may slacken within a year or two. To end let me repeat the real key to the success of our own brands lies in the
reputation we have built in the past and the strengthening of this reputation by quality and value of ail the commodities we sell under our own name. As always in business, our greatest asset is our reputation and it is our hope and ambitioti that this new development in own brands enhances and increases that reputation with our customers.
6
Above is the Sainsbury Design Studio where work on JS package designs is carried out. From left to right Peter Proto, Peter Bond (Studio Head), Andrew Carlisle and Tony Ward.
Below, Chief Designer Peter Dixon (right) discusses production detail with Alf Whybra, JS Advertising Print Buyer. The firm's policy is to create a strongly individual design style for products carrying the JS name.
Mr. E. J. West (left) of Grocery Buying Department and Allan Howlett of Advertising examine a can label. Proofs must be looked at regularly to maintain the standard of appearance expected for JS lines.
A Two JS lab. assistants. Above, an assistant from the ^ bacteriological lab. is spreading a sample of Sainsbury's Drinking Chocolate on culture media plates. After incubation at 37°C. (body temperature) and 22°C. (the optimum temperature for most bacteria which cause deterioration in food) a count is taken of organisms present. Lower picture shows chemical lab. assistant determining by refractometer the percentage of soluble solids present in a sample ofJS marmalade. These are routine examinations for all deliveries.
7
O.B.E. for J.S. Chief Chemist In the New Year's Honours List for 1965, Mr. E. F. Williams, M.A., F.R.I.C, the firm's Chief Chemist was awarded the O.B.E. for his distinguished services in the field of food hygiene. On behalf of our readers we would like to convey our congratulations to him. Mr. Williams, who joined the firm in 1953 as Chief Chemist, is a graduate of Cambridge University and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chemistry. He has had a long career in research, first at Imperial College, London, and later at the Sir William Dunn School of Biochemistry, Cambridge, where he was engaged on protein studies. Before joining JS, he had been a member of the Scientific Advisers Division of the Ministry of Food, working on defence aspects of food research, and he was also associated with the development of Accelerated Freeze Drying.
He is a member of a number of scientific and technical committees and was recently appointed as a member of the Agricultural Research Council, Research Advisory Committee for the Meat Research Institute. As Chief Chemist at JS he is responsible for the application of science, food hygiene, and for laboratory control and research work.
8
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Chelsea foundations take shape far below the level of King's Road. There will be two basements; the lower one a car park for 78 cars, the upper one a warehouse, preparation areas and staff facilities for our new branch and warehouses for the other four
shops in the pedestrian square in the middle of the block. Deliveries will be by a separate ramp with a space-saving turntable like the one at Wimbledon (see p. 11). Above, Mr. Timothy Sainsbury on the site making a cine-camera record of building progress.
Wimbledon Branch opened November 23rd 1964. Christmas decorations were up at Elys Department Store with whom we share premises. JS shopping area is 6,500 square feet of the ground floor. There is access to Elys by lift or escalator. JS preparation rooms and bulk stock is in the basement. A power operated turntable (lower right opposite) saves space and time in turning round transport. Manager is Mr. L. Netherton formerly at Richmond. He joined JS in 1932 and his first management was Hook 1953. Has managed Esher and Weybridge. Seen below left, talking with visitor Mr. G. Hoare former Area Superintendent.
10
News&developments
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Bitterne on the Eastern outskirts of Southampton will have a new Sainsbury's at the end of March. The branch (about 5,000 square feet of shop area) has been designed by JS Architects Department. It stands in Bitterne Road between the Angel Inn and a bowling alley. It is on the opposite side of Southampton from Shirley.
-.. __•_
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- I Redhill due to open in April 1965 will take the place of our existing branch in that town. It is in a new block designed for a development company at 92/96 Station Road. Shop area about 5,500 square feet can be seen above. In the distance a tiler is at work
laying mosaic and electricians are fitting fluorescent tubes in the bulkhead lighting system. The heading (on page 9) to this picture section shows the development block at an early stage last year. Our branch will be at the left hand end of the block.
12
News&developments
Kenton in North West London has recently opened a self-service section. The warehouse has been rebuilt and a range of non-foods introduced. Manager (left) is Mr. G. H. Ridgway, who joined JS in 1923, first became a manager at North Harrow 1940, and managed Joel Street branch from 1946 to 1950 when he moved to Kenton.
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Crawley branch has been enlarged by some 1,000 square feet of shopping area which has given us improved facilities for display and room for more checkouts. In the picture above the new part of the branch is the section on the right. Below is one of the connecting ways between the old and new premises. Small picture shows part of the enlarged produce preparation area. Manager is Mr. E. R. Weeks who has been with JS since 1937. He became Spare Manager at Purley in 1956 and went to Crawley, his first management, in 1959.
14
News&developments
68 Croydon, opening April. Picture below shows new shop set back from the old building line. Right, construction work on the refrigerated meat lockers. Temporary premises are now in use on the building site.
Chapel Market To cope with the Christmas poultry trade in Islington a temporary premises was set up next door to our temporary branch at 53. It was on the site of the new branch which is being
built in Chapel Market at numbers 54/55. We would like to correct an error in our November issue when we stated that 76 Chapel Market closed in 1962. It was in fact 48 Chapel Market which closed.
Apologies also to Leicester which is our second largest branch with 11,258 square feet. Coventry is a close third with 11,077 square feet.
15
how to get the best out of hotels and Our article by Derek Taylor, a hotelier by profession, provides some common sense comments on the service you should expect in his branch of the catering trade.
WITH the coming of Spring we can at last start to plan holidays without feeling we are just daydreaming. The planning, the anticipation, the savouring of different ideas are as much part of the fun as actually going. We hope for long days in the sun, new friends, new sights, and above all the chance to forget work completely. It 's good for us to get away hut at the end of the journey would you like to find your own home - suitably staffed of course - rather than a hotel ? Are you happy in a hotel?
There's that doorman for instance. If that uniform was any more impressive you'd salute him. To tip such an august presence seems almost lese majeste. So you give him 2/6 for opening the taxi door and feel you've been imposed on. The boy behind the reception desk may look like a refugee from a continental embassy but only he can tell you where you are sleeping. You announce your name and for endless seconds he searches his board to find out whether you are lying about the reservation and should be turfed out into the street as an impostor.
The whole relationship between hotel and customer is bedevilled by this kind of prob
lem. In t ruth the doorman is often a very friendly character; after all who else is there to talk to except the arriving and departing clients? The receptionist usually feels out of place with the guests. He is young, inexperienced, and he is not used to the world of hotels. He may seem curt in his manner, but this is to disguise his social uncertainty. Like East/West gunboats the guest and the staff hide their fears behind a battery of suspicion and aggression.
What are your feelings when you enter a hotel? A few years ago the American Hotel Association hired a top Public Relations company called Dudley, Anderson, Yutzy (DAY for short) to find out the answer amongst the Americans. To their horror the answer
16
restaurants at home and abroad
came back that the people were dead scared of hotels. Take that menu for instance. You discover to your relief that in the half empty restaurant the Maitre d'Hotel can with much difficulty find you a spare table. If you are guided to this haven by another waiter he has been told by the head man "Number 32". You feel as large as one of those little white balls that pop up in a bingo session. With a flourish the menu is placed before you and the waiter stands poised to take your order. Conscious that you are keeping him from more important tasks you gaze fascinated a t a string of French words. Now let me assure you that the vast majority of hoteliers do not know half the total collection of French dishes. Try a menu like this on them for instance; Rable de Lievre, Filet de Sole Emmanuel X, Oreilles a la Rouennaise, Patates Douces, Bombe Danicheff. This menu is composed of quite reasonably priced dishes as well. If your hotelier can tell you that you would be eating hare soup, pigs ears, sweet potatoes, and coffee ice cream with Kirsch you should leave yourself completely in his hands in future. If he can explain the garnish Emmanuel X liked with his sole the man is wasted outside the Ritz. But then there are well over 100 ways of preparing sole. If he doesn't know all the explanations of the
dishes, why should he expect you, a layman, to do so? Admittedly there are plenty of dishes which cannot be translated. Try to find space on a menu for "A choice of sardines, sweet corn, russian salad, tomato, egg, anchovies etc e tc" when you can just put down Hors d'oeuvres. There is no excuse, however, for names like Dindonneau Roti a l'Anglaise when they mean Roast Turkey. You may well feel that the reason for the French is because they themselves are very keen on turkey but in fact they invariably eat goose. Rather than lose face the average guest plumps for the dish he understands. Since he usually understands only the simple dishes the hotel fails to arouse his interest in the more expensive ones. It 's like sending out a washing machine brochure without any pictures and the text in German.
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We now come to the wine list. I like wine. Those glamorous bottles, those strange alluring colours, and all those different exotic tastes. What is more there is so much in a wine bottle and i t all has to be drunk a t once. I do not like wine waiters. First of all they won't give me the wine list to keep for a while so that I can enjoy the act of choosing. Indeed I would never be surprised if I were asked to sign for the wine list before i t was handed to me a t all. I t is customary to proffer the wine list opened at the Champagne page. This is a delicate hint almost everybody ignores. Have you ever wondered why an Aloxe Corton costs more than a Nuits St. Georges which costs more than a Medoc? You certainly won't find the answer in the average wine list. A sterile collection of names, numbers, years and prices but not a hint of why one is better than another. Yet the hotels would like you to buy the more expensive ones. Basically the answer is that certain wines are in short supply because they were produced in smaller quantities or were produced in a year when the grapes were particularly fine for wine making. I t is simpler to choose the better German wines because they, a t least, give you two clues. One is the word Spatlese and the other Auslese.
Both words refer to the grapes. When they are allowed to ripen until the last possible minute they make finer wines and these are called Spatlese. When only the finest grapes are selected from the crop this is called Auslese. Chateau bottled wines amongst the French vintages are also splendid but this only applies to the Bordeaux wines which are called clarets. With the Burgundy wines you have to go by the year as much as anything else.
The wine mystique
As much nonsense is talked about wine as about the necessity for menus to be in French. For instance when your pet hotelier has recovered from deciphering the menu try him on this. Fill three glasses with Volnay 1953, Volnay 1955, and Volnay 1959 and ask him to tell you which is which. Alternatively place before him a choice of three Burgundies, say Vosnes Romanee, Pommard, and Gevrey Chambertin. Invite him to distinguish one from another. Since the war the consumption of wine in this country has gone up and up. This is a thoroughly good thing and many doctors will tell you that wine is a far safer method of taking alcohol than spirits. Just how much people are frightened away by all the spurious mystique is another matter. The whole question was brought down to earth by the sceptic who remarked on the amount of non-French wine in French wine bottles, saying "It will cost a lot more now that they've lost Algeria." It is a fact that more French wine is sold than is produced. Wine from areas outside France is introduced. This is by no means disastrous since the finished product is still better than its rivals.
The attraction of hotels, of good food and wine creates a genuine love/hate relationship. What you hate in hotels may result from your own shortcomings. For instance how much do you complain? Take the average woman. Hell hath no fury like a woman sold poor groceries. Battering the counter she will tell you exactly what you should do with that slightly off-flavoured cheese. Indignantly she will point at that slight dent in the tin, demanding a perfect one. Woe betide you if you are a penny out in your calculation of the bill. Yet remove her from your store into a restaurant and what happens? You want to send her cold soup back. Her face goes beet red as she hisses in a frenzy of embarrassment, "Don't make a fuss." The steak is tough, orthe coffee burnt. "Come on, let's go," she mutters peering round in case anybody notices that she hasn't finished every morsel and every drop. If you do not complain, you cannot expect high standards.
Then again, how much do you know about hotels? Whilst I love my car, let me be the first to admit that I do not understand how i t works. Therefore I mistrust my garage
mechanic. If he tells me that my big end shows signs of wear I have no means of knowing whether he is telling me the truth. The only big end I can locate, I sit on. I similarly mistrust watch repairers because I feel sure in my own mind that if they just blew in the right place my broken watch would start again. Broken main springs indeed! People distrust hotels in the same way. All over the world the organisers of parties are waking up with splitting headaches, reaching for the ice-pack with one hand, and the hotel bill with the other, and righteously declaiming "We couldn't possibly have drunk that much!" Well, you certainly could. Consider that farewell party last year. The hotel told you that their price for gin was for instance, 2/6d. This is true when you pour from the bottle into a measure, and from the measure into a glass. Leave out the measure and you are probably pouring a measure and a half; that costs 3/9d. So you put your drink down on the mantelpiece to light your cigarette and lo and behold, who is that on the other side of the room? Why, it 's old Charlie. Must go and say hello to old Charlie. So leaving your 3/9d. behind - you can always get another one at the bar - you churn across the room. Where does the 3/9d. go? Eventually the hotel staff may be drinking your health. But this is a drink which cannot find an owner. You have not been cheated in any way as so many organisers feel when they see the bill for drinks. Get the drinks measured, and the bill will go down.
Home or Away? A comparison
There are hotels which make a conscious effort to save the client from his own mistakes and his own fears. You can usually spot them from the speed with which they grow as companies. One thinks of Butlin's, Berni Inns, Grand Metropolitan Hotels in London, the Grand at Eastbourne and Trust Houses. These companies have built very successfully on making people feel at home. If your hotel on holiday does not do the same there is always another round the corner which will.
We can at least take comfort from the fact that the British hotel is now up with and ahead of i ts continental rival. This is proved by the fact that only Italy gets more tourists than we do. Compare the prices you are paying for food abroad now with a good English hotel. In France last summer the normal cover charge was two francs (2/10d.) with a 15% service charge. That means 6/6d. for you and the wife or girl-friend to sit down. The Routier restaurants which are not far removed from transport cafes served meals at approximately 15/-. No, we are better off in England, but i t is time to meet the hotel half way, to stand no nonsense and to shop around until you find the hotels which are really working hard at making guests happy.
18
Match Sticks and Match Men Ihere was t h i s man
who kept l o s ing out in the g a l l a n t r y
stakes
f» 0iW) so he takes to the high hill8 with his hatchet to chop down poplars
and lower down the high hills he does the same
(TIMBER/
A lighthearted history and a not very serious picture story of a particularly complex industrial process
BOY SCOUTS and Red Indians make fire by rubbing two sticks together, an effective but laborious method. A more practical and reliable technique was not invented until 1669 when Hennig Brandt, a Hamburg chemist discovered phosphorus, a chemical that unites with oxygen so rapidly that it bursts into flame immediately on exposure to air. Phosphorus being a t this time very expensive, ignition experiments had to be dropped and the whole idea did not catch fire until 1780 when a device called 'The Ethereal Match' or 'Phosphoric Candle' was invented. This consisted of a sealed glass tube inside which lay a piece of waxed string or paper tipped with phosphorus. When the tube was broken the inrushing air caused combustion. Different devices were put on the market for some years. The most common means of producing a light was the 'Instantaneous Light Box' but a number of curiosities were sold as well. A famous chemist, Johann W. Dobereiner invented a portable fire producer in which hydrogen was generated by the action of dilute sulphuric acid on zinc. The gas was then directed on to a platinum sponge in contact with the air. One model is still extant in which the metal statuette of a man stands on the generating cylinder with the gas shooting from a cigar in his hands. A somewhat more dangerous but no doubt highly exciting product was 'The Promethean Match'. This was a glass capsule filled with sulphuric acid and coated with potassium chlorate, sugar and gum - all in a pretty paper wrapper. Method of lighting was to put the whole contraption in your mouth, break the glass
with your teeth and get it away from your face before the chlorate ignited the fire - and probably your teeth as well. The number blown out is not on record but the model was discontinued.
Other types came in strips like caps for toy pistols, wire fixed stars, Chinese lights or Prussian war fuses. The Diamond Match Co in America even catered for the inebriated and invented a 'Drunkard's Match' - the flame went out halfway down the stick.
If a date can be pinpointed for the first match it is April 7 1827 when a druggist a t Stockton-on-Tees reported the sale of '100 Sulphurate Hyperoxygenta Frict.' These were about 3" long and were li t by being drawn through a fold of glass paper. The match l i t among a small explosion and a shower of sparks. The smell was so unpleasant that Samuel Jones, a match maker warned users to 'avoid inhaling gas that escapes from the combustion of black composition. Persons whose lungs are delicate should by no means use Lucifers' - especially not those with a devil-may-care attitude!
A French doctor had in the meantime substituted for phosphorus, antimony sulphide which ignites wherever it is struck. This invention was never patented and was soon being made the world over. Many lives were lost before it became known that workers making these matches developed a disease called 'Phossy Jaw' which is a pernicious bone degeneration caused by white phosphorus. In 1845 safety matches were invented and the
Continued on page 22.
mrm nr T
19
....and then ha buys this match factory geta all these poplars down into it and says to the MANAGER make ma the best box of matches in the world
This beautiful selected white aspen wood is what makes the best matches. First it has to be cut up into short billets
Besides being an ingenious man he is also a provident man so he soon has a mill as well as a match factory, this is
where all those 2nd, class poplars go
(and the sub-atandard
bits from up top as well)
a very practical arrangement
CUT I
then i t ge t s soaked and bo i led in a mild chemical t o prevent a f te r -g low and so to the veneer 'P . I
Here the b i l l e t s are turned in to long s t r i p s of veneer by being ro t a t ed aga ins t the sharp knives of pee l ing machines. A th in veneer i s cut fey? boxes, a t h i cke r one for matches.
In t h i s s t o r e the paper used for boxes i s kept and the l a b e l s and wrappers are p r i n t e d . The des igns are done by the MANAGER'S cousin who was in the Royal A r t i l l e r y .
The vacuum pipe carries off the matchsticks to the match making machine
. i
Behind th is curtain Imagine 1 II!III I It I the dreaded guil lot ine chopping beautiful Aspen Veneer into millions and
millions of match s t icks•
Now for the hard part.The sticks have to toe clamped t ight and held upright in the i r sections of a very long conveyor b e l t . Take a look a t a match and you ' l l see the mark of the grip a t i t s
foot, when they are a l l in posi t ion the be l t looks l ike the back of an enormous hedgehog.
But i t s t a r t s off into the match making machine with the st icks
pointing down.They are f i r s t dipped in hot parrafin wax,then dried and
the heads formed by ra is ing (as the be l t passes over i t ) a large f l a t
tray fu l l of liquid match-head compound so that jus t the t ips of t h e s t icks are covered. This happens twice to make a strong head.
Then the be l t winds i t s way upwards through warm drying a i r and
the matches are ejected
into the f i l l i n g
hopper
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mmS Next they are f i t t ed together and label led .
Here boxes (trays and outers) are being made from thin veneer, paper and cardboard.
The boxes are opened automatically to receive their contents measured out by very accurate mechanical gauges.Then they are shut and pass on to page 22 to get a striker surface on
each side.
21
Rich, affluent,wealthy, loaded, powerful, strong, Intelligent, experienced our hero once again makes with the gallantry
;
With the match box filled, labelled and given a striker surface it passes through a drying tunnel to be packed and dispatched.
THIS TIME!t! J
continued from page 19. more dangerous means of giving a light gradually discontinued.
The best-known and most colourful figure to emerge from the match story is Ivar Kreuger the Match King, a Swede who is considered by some to be the greatest rogue in history. His dream was to build up around his person a Rockefeller type of industrial empire spread over the whole world. His first enterprise was to form a firm of building contractors, Kreuger and Toll, and although this expanded rapidly a general lull in building in 1912 brought home to him that the kind of power he was seeking could only be gained by selling something that was needed all the time everywhere. He found the answer in matches. His father owned three match factories, not very efficiently run. Ivar took over their reorganisation. His methods were ruthless, bold and inspired and within five years he was showing an annual profit of two million kroner - a meteoric rise which made Swedish financiers say 'He can make gold.' His phenomenal memory, his wizardry with figures, his utterly convincing manner became a by-word in Sweden so that within six years of going into the match business he could command huge sums of money simply by scrawling his signature. He built himself a Match Palace near the Royal Gardens in Stockholm, a magnificent building which was considered the last word in imposing elegance. Behind his desk hung Gobelin tapestries and over the door a design showed a torch symbolic of the matches that lighted the world.
His passion for monopoly surpassed business enterprise, it became a mania. By the end of the twenties he had almost achieved his goal of a 65% control of world matches. He was borrowing vast sums far beyond his legitimate credit on securities which were rigged from
start to finish to the tune of almost a billion and a half dollars. A typical transaction was the one with Mussolini who refused Kreuger the monopoly of match-making for Italy. Kreuger went home and forged an agreement which had never existed - and then borrowed on the false bonds.
It was the Americans who finally toppled the throne of the smartest man alive. The International Match Co sent to Sweden one of their Directors, Durant by name to query Kreuger's claims. Kreuger entertained him so lavishly that Durant felt ashamed to put to him the questions prepared by his Board. Reluctantly he did so and was answered so convincingly with such a dazzling display of facts that Durant was helpless. His visit was crowned by a party given in his honour. The guests were, he was told, ambassadors and their wives, figures of national importance. Durant never suspected that they were movie extras complete with wardrobe costumes.
Rockefeller was sent over next by a still dissatisfied Board of Directors. Kreuger was prepared. On his desk a dummy telephone rang continuously. 'Excuse me' he would say to the astounded American 'It 's Mussolini,' and into the telephone 'Greetings, Benito old chap, what can I do for you?' Calls followed with Poincare, Baldwin and on one occasion Stalin. Rockefeller returned to the United States even more impressed than Durant.
Perhaps had it not been for the Wall Street crash of 1929 Kreuger would today be undiscovered and the Grand Old Man of world finance. As i t is, on the eve of exposure he shot himself in his room in Paris to leave to a disbelieving and astounded world the unreality behind this vast financial empire built on matches.
22
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Parsley for Vice-President I'd like to be able to say a good word for parsley, but I can't. And after all what can you find to say for something- that
even the dictionary dismisses as a biennial umbelliferous plant? Speaking of which, I don't know how the dictionary figures i t as
biennial, i t is biennial my eye, i t is like the poor and the iniquitous, Because it is always with us, because it is permanent and ubiquitous, I will not venture to deny that it is umbelliferous, I will only add that it is of a nasty green color, and faintly odoriferous. And I hold by my complaint, though every cook and hostess in
the land indict me for treason for it . That parsley is something that as a rhymer I can find no rhyme
for i t and as an eater I can find no reason for it . Well there is one sin for which a lot of cooks and hostesses are
some day going to have to atone, Which is that they can't bear to cook anything and leave i t alone. No, they see food as something to base a lot of beautiful dreams
and romances on. Which explains lamb chops with pink and blue pants on. Everything has to be all decorated and garnished So the guests will be amazed and astarnished. And whatever you get to eat, i t ' s sprinkled with a lot of good old
umbelliferous parsley looking as limp and as wistful as Lilian Gish, And it is limpest, and wistfulest, and also thickest, on fish. Indeed, I think maybe one reason for the disappearance of Enoch Arden Was that his wife had an idea that mackerel tasted better if
instead of looking like mackerel i t looked like a garden. Well, anyhow there's the parsley cluttering up your food, And the problem is to get i t off without being rude, And first of all you try to scrape i t oft" with your fork, And you might as well try to shave with a cork, And then you surreptitiously try your fingers, And you get covered with butter and gravy, but the parsley lingers, And you turn red and smile a t your hostess and compliment her
on the recipe and ask her where she found it, And then you return to the parsley and as a last resort you try to eat around it, And the hostess says, Oh you are just picking a t it, is there
something wrong with it? So all you can do is to eat it all up, and the parsley along with it, And now is the time for all good parsleyphobes to come to the aid
of the menu and exhibit their gumption, And proclaim that any dish that has either a taste or an appearance
that can be improved by parsley is ipso facto a dish unfit for human consumption.
OGDEN NASH
Some like it HOT. . . J. L Woods plays it cool Another episode in the career of our D.I. Y. expert
• * & . *
"You are strongly advised" said all the pamphlets we were avidly reading on various forms of central heating which we were wishing we could afford, "to insulate your loft. This will keep the house cool in summer and warm in winter and cut down on your fuel bills." This seemed to be about the one point about which all the various protagonists
agreed and we felt that even although we couldn't afford the central heating we could, a t any rate, get some benefit from an insulated roof ("it's every bit as good as central heating dear, and much cheaper") and then we could talk airily to our friends and neighbours about the advantages of this or that form of insulation without actually letting on about the lack of central heating.
First of all of course a visit to the loft was indicated and this in itself, as I believe I have mentioned before, is something of an adventure and needs a certain amount of agility, not to mention luck, to be achieved without loss of life or limb. Making sure my insurance was paid up I decided to make the first assault at about 09.00 on one wet Sunday morning. By 10.15 the first objective was reached and I was sitting in the loft opening with my legs dangling over about 20 feet of staircase way down below.
It 's surprising how lofty and imposing the upstairs landing and staircase look when viewed from this rather unusual viewpoint. Stand on the stairs and look up - you don't give it a second thought; sit in the loft and look down and it 's like looking over the edge of Beachy Head.
By about 12.30 my wife had become a little anxious and began to make tentative enquiries at the foot of the ladder by tugging the life-line which I thoughtfully had attached to myself in case I should get lost. Have you ever tried carrying on a conversation with anyone in a loft? To start with you've got to start the ball rolling by letting it be known that (a) there's a cup of coffee ready - or (b) Bill from up the road is at the front door and wants to borrow something or other, or (c) you're wanted on the phone, (a) is more likely to succeed than either (b) or (c) but even this takes a bit of getting over.
The loft is another world, remote and dark; sounds from below if heard at all are hollow and sepulchral. Actually when my wife made contact by tugging the string I was in the middle of going through the trunk in the loft which contains masses of old photos, my old army kit, letters which would perhaps best be forgotten, old diaries and what have you. The jerk brought me to life with something of a start and I promptly dropped the torch which equally as promptly went out. No doubt it has happened to you. One foot on each of two rafters, total darkness, half an inch of dust and cobwebs over everything and you know perfectly well that the first step you take your foot will go through the ceiling of either the front bedroom, the back bedroom the bathroom, landing or some other room depending by and large on which direction you decide to make for. However, my language must have reassured my wife that at any rate I was still alive, if not exactly overjoyed and after about 15 minutes shouting i t became known that I would appreciate
24
another torch tied on her end of the life line. Eventually with a series of bumps and thumps torch No. 2 had arrived and I was able once again to then turn my attentions to the tin trunk. Having at last exhausted all the nostalgia of the magic box I felt it was really time I got to thinking of roof insulation. I became rather more venturesome in my tour of exploration, and tiptoed carefully via the joists (or are they rafters?) to the other side of the loft. There I made my first acquaintance with what I later discovered, when I recovered from my fright, to be the T.V. aerial. By some mischance a sheet had become draped over it and the whole effect was rather terrifying. My mind quickly went back to the last occupier - had we actually seen him leave? How long can one life be sustained in an att ic without food except perhaps an occasional bird and water from the cold tank? Stupid of course but lofts play strange tricks on me. I was extremely relieved to note that the rope which I was sure was suspending him was in fact the wire disappearing somewhere en route to the telly. Here incidentally was another mystery solved because as I touched it it said quite clearly "GLOINK" which is the noise which has been mystifying my wife and myself for some months now. Every now and again as we lie in bed and maybe the wind blows or the cat treads on a loose floorboard something goes "GLOINK" at us. We had conjured up all sorts of spooky explanations, read up all about poltergeists only now to find out that it is nothing more supernatural than our telly aerial.
My wife shouts up a t me how much longer do I intend to be measuring up the loft, can she borrow the tape measure, and would I like my lunch sent up in a hay-box? I feel this is a general hint that I have been missing for long enough so, ignoring the other interesting objets d'art that I would dearly love to investigate, I set to to measure the area of the loft, like it says in the brochure. I find of course that it 's no problem at all to measure the middle bit but our loft is rather like a tent without the pole in the middle and measuring out to the eaves brings back memories of trying to make your bed at Scout camp; you have to lay full length on your tummy to make the bit that 's next to the tent wall or roof as the case may be. Laying full length on the joists to poke a tape measure out to the eaves of our loft is not funny I can assure you. I was in a fairly grimy condition by the time I had reconnoitred all four sides, measured them up, broken the pencil, mislaid the piece of paper and, I would be the first to admit, my temper was not really improved when I eventually returned in a cloud of dust to the less rarefied atmosphere of the bathroom to hear my wife's suggestion that if all I
wanted to do was to measure the area of the loft why didn't I measure the rooms underneath it and add them together, and what did I want the measurements for anyway and had I brought the other torch down?
Thinking about this since, I'm bound to admit she probably had a point but, a t the time, this coldly logical approach didn't seem to go with my spirit of adventure.
The next problem was what kind of insulation to buy. I personally reckon that rolled up brown paper, or even piles of newspaper would be as good as anything, but as unfortunately we hadn't got a room-full of them handy and my wife says they harbour the mice (any mice we may have, I say in return, are welcome to our loft) nothing will suffice except that I go and buy the proper kind of insulation for the loft. But which proper kind? The kind that looks like a large brown Swiss roll which you unwind and lay down between the rafters (or is it joists?) or the kind that looks like breakfast cereal which you sprinkle all over? Having had some experience of laying down, poking into the eaves I decide that the breakfast cereal variety is the kind for me. I can just stand in the middle of the loft and throw it. My first calculation worked out that I wanted one hundred and thir ty eight bags which the man a t the shop told me was unlikely unless I intended to get onto the roof and pour it down one chimney until it started coming out the other. This I considered somewhat facetious but felt nevertheless I had better check my working out. Having decided that the central heating brochure didn't actually recommend that the loft be filled right up with the stuff I amended my specification to twenty two bags which I fondly imagined I could get in the back of the car - until I saw the size of a single bag.
During the sixth trip one of the bags broke in the car; another I inadvertently allowed to fall from the loft onto the staircase. Have you ever tried sweeping up what I believe is known technically as "fragmented vermiculite" ? Unless you can keep a pretty firm grasp on it, i t 's inclined to float away from you. A half hundredweight (or whatever) in the back of the car and another over the staircase takes a bit of collecting - one good cough and you're back where you started. The cat rather enjoyed himself when he managed to get to the surface and six weeks after we're still clearing up the remnants from the most unlikely places.
However, the roof is insulated and like all the best people in the road, the frost stays on our roof all day long. And the house is like a well insulated icebox. I'm afraid the evil hour is only postponed . . . I notice my wife has started looking through the central heating literature again!
25
retirements
Left. Mr. W. McGovern retiring manager at Bognor receives a tea service from Mr. F. A. Pagden. At the party I. to r. Messrs. A. H. Gibbs, A. W. Smith, F. A. Pagden, G. Kelsey, W. McGovern, A. E. Flint, P. Moore and G. Foord.
Below left. Mr. A. J. Walder of Hackney receives a table lighter from Mrs. Sadler on behalf of the staff.
Below right. For Mr. H. W. D. Noble of 48 Ipswich, after 47 years with JS, a warm send off from the staff. Manager A. F. Fry presents an electric razor, a fire and a clock on their behalf.
golden weddings Left. Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Davis who celebrated their Golden Wedding on November 7th, 1964.
Right. Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. J. Burgin who celebrated their Golden Wedding on December 5th, 1964.
i ~-~- j i ' ^
^ fe£*£
_ K^fek
1 \ • • • & - '
Mk --•:• V ^ »
26
congratulations
Mr. C. A. Church of Buntingford Depot and Miss Michele Lee at St. Mary's, Westmill
Mr. G. H. J. Baker and Miss Josephine D. Mills of Chichester branch at St. Mary's, Sidlesham
Left: Mr. B. Cook and Miss K. M. Withall of Chichester branch at St. Leodegars, Hunstan.
27
Staff News Assistant Managers
Movements and Promotions Managers F. COSTER
L. NETHERTON
Spare Managers
D. BARCLAY
F. PANKHURST
H. POUNDER
C. SUMMERTON
S. TREWHELLA
from Chichester to Self-Service relief duties from Bishop's Stortford to Bognor from Richmond to Wimbledon from Dunstable to Lewisham from Reading to Chichester from Swiss Cottage to Reading from 13/15 Blackfriars to 14/15 Leytonstone
from P.A. to Self-Service training from 12/16 Kingsland to Hackney from Hackney to 12/16 Kingsland from Stockwell to Wimbledon from Display Supervisor to further training
Promoted to Management D. BRAMHAM from Spare a t Harlow
to the management p. PURSLOW from Spare a t Dunstable
to the management j . A. SOPER from Spare at 1/4 Ealing
to the management
a&w D. Bramham
P. Purslow
JT±
F. COWEY
P. CROSS
R. GLEESON
L. HAMMOND
J. IRESTONE
A. MELLODY
G. POTTER
R. SLEMMONDS
Promoted to C. BANNER L. BLISS P. BYRNE R. FARRELL J. GOODLIFF R. GRANT K. HARRIS
A. JUKES B. KAVANAGH B. LEE M. MCHALE
A. PAGE J. PRENDERGAST
F. SMITH G. SMITH J. SWEETING I. TOGHILL A. WARTHO R. WILKINSON
from 6 Norwich to Self-Service training from Portslade to 66 Brighton from Marylebone to Swiss Cottage from 66 Brighton to Portslade from Self-Service training to Guildford from Self-Service training to Forest Hill from Chingford to Tottenham from Richmond to Wimbledon from Marylebone to 1/4 Ealing from Self-Service training to Upminster from Self-Service training to Coventry from Self-Service training to Coventry from 41 Norwich to Self-Service training from Self-Service training to Wimbledon from Lordship Lane toP.A. from Wimbledon (Service) to Self-Service training from Tottenham to Chingford
Assistant Manager Battersea 40/44 Walthamstow Marble Arch Boscombe 68 Croydon Marylebone Brondesbury Gerrards Cross Earls Court Kettering North Harrow Kettering Cricklewood Victoria Hook Forest Gate Weybridge Crawley Shirley
Head Butchers Transfers R. ACKRILL from West Wickham
to Redhill N. BUNCB from Battersea
to Victoria R. BURTON from 99 Kensington
to Battersea
28
L. CHURCHER
J. DAVIES
A. DOWLEY
B. DOWNS
J. PAWDRY
D. GLOSTER
R. HENDERSON
H. LOCK
C. MCQUEEN
F. PAINE
P. PRATT
C. PROCTER
R. SPURGE
D. STROUD
L. TAYLOR
G. TWITCHETT
C. WINDMILL
from Redhill to Self-Service training from 16 Enfield to High Barnet from Victoria to Wimbledon Self-Service from Self-Service training to Ilford Self-Service from Whetstone to 16 Enfield from Wimbledon to East Sheen from Spare Hackney to Spare Hoe Street, Walthamstow from Lordship Lane to Barkingside from Eastcote to Wealdstone from Ilford Self-Service to Hoe Street, Walthamstow from Self-Service training to West Wickham from Spare a t 13/15 Stamford Street to Spare a t 99 Kensington from Stratford to Lordship Lane from Coventry to Coventry Self-Service from 43 Enfield to Whetstone from Barkingside to Self-Service training from Hoe St., Walthamstow to Bishop's Stortford
Retirements
We send our best wishes to the following colleagues who have just retired.
Promoted to Head Butcher L. CLAYTON from Spare Oxted to Oxted R. LLOYD from Spare Romford
to Stratford R. MANDALL from Spare 16 Enfield
to 43 Enfield N. MARTIN from Greenford to Eastcote
Promoted to Spare Head Butcher c. EVANS of Reading G. GIBBONS of Wembley A. HILLYARD of Bristol B. SHAKESPEARE ofHoe Street, Walthamstow J. WOOLF of Slough
40 Years' Service Congratulations to the following colleagues who have completed long service with the firm.
H. BEARMAN Driver, Basingstoke c. v. COLE Head Butcher, Southall L. COLE A/Manager, Hastings j . D. JONES Driver, Basingstoke c. J. NURTHEN Asst. Head Butcher
a t 367 Harrow
25 Years' Service MRS. E. J. HENDRY Despatch Clerk, Warehouse
Mr. J. Gregory
Mr. F. W. Salisbury writes:— It has often struck me as a most remarkable coincidence tha t within a few miles of each other in the Thames Valley, there have operated three farmer-grazier-butcher families of long standing and great repute, whose names all begin with the letter "C". They are respectively, the Cridlans, the Cumbers and the Colebrooks. In each instance, the operation is now in charge of the third generation.
From the Cridlan employment came our first meat buyer, John Collis, some sixty years ago. a t a time when the grandfather of the present John Cridlan was introducing Aberdeen-Angus cattle Into England from Scotland, setting up the famous Maisemore herd in Gloucestershire,
The Cumbers, of whom the senior member is now some eighty years of age, have achieved wide renown in various spheres of agriculture and still carry on butcher's businesses in the Reading area.
Mr. Peter Colebrook recently sold his retail business interest in that same area to David Greig Ltd. His father has often chided him that they let a good young man slip through their fingers in 1925 when a twenty-year-old member of their staff came to Sainsbury's. He had learned the fish trade as well as the meat trade and was one of those difficult people who persist in holding a knife in their left hand; a veritable giant of a man who must have weighed all of seven stone (In the modern idiom about 32-32-32). His father, who was named Gregory, christened him Joe, reasoning that there was not much point in the baby being Joseph if everyone was going to call him Joe in after-life (his brothers were likewise Dick and Jack). Understandably, this has led to many confusions with officially-minded people.
Joe Gregory started his J S stint in the meat
department a t Crlcklewood and i t so happened that soon after this the aforesaid John Collis wanted a young man to be his No. 3 on Smithfleld. To be truthful, a lot of the job consisted a t that stage of tying address tallies on meat purchases and putting on the stockinet covers which in those days the firm had to provide if the meat was to travel in any sort of cleanliness a t all.
In time No. 2 sought fresh fields and Joe Gregory stepped up. When finally John Collis - a hard, meticulous taskmaster - retired, J . G. was ready-made to step into his shoes.
In the course of these 40 years or so, he has become accustomed to rising a t about 3 a.m. and has helped to air the streets for the lie-a-beds. On Smithfleld he has long been a personality in a world of personalities, a man of very sensitive nature who none-the-less could be as vehement as most if he felt a seller was trying to outsmart him. In a job like his, Integrity has almost to be taken for granted but none-the-less, i t has always been an outstanding characteristic, appreciated by all those with whom he dealt. He has always been blessed with an instinctive sense of values and that not only in meat. When at the Royal Smithfield Cattle Show recently he mentioned casually to an Argentine breeder that he supposed he had bought more beef from that country than any other man, I have no doubt that this was a statement of fact and when one thinks of i t , i t probably applies to most other meat commodities he has dealt In. He will, I know, forgive me for saying that he has always remained a country boy and in the sense I mean it, one could pay him no greater compliment. Now the time has come for him to retire - only the second Head Meat Buyer in the entire history of J S - 1 am sure he will enjoy his leisure immensely for he has only to walk or drive through the countryside to find interest on every side, and of course this applies to any butcher's shop anywhere and a good many others besides.
By a strange twist of fate, not altogether coincidental, his son Michael is now in charge of our meat department a t Beading, right in the heart of that country which produced his father, his mother and those families of C's!
Miss M. A. Cropton who started with the firm in 1918 as a cashier a t 515 Finchley Boad. She was later appointed first clerk a t 160 Cricklewood, and In January 1932 she was appointed Auditor. Prior to her retirement on 1st December 1964 she was responsible for visiting branches in the north London area.
Miss M. Down who was engaged as a resident domestic assistant a t Folkestone on 22nd February 1932. In 1951 she was transferred to Hythe as daily housekeeper, and i t was from here that she retired on 1st November 1964.
Mrs. K. Fitnum who was engaged on 29th September 1947 as a daily domestic assistant a t Bast Ham. On 15th July 1948 she was promoted to housekeeper a t Watney Street, from which branch she retired on 1st November 1964.
W. E. Howe who joined the firm on 10th May 1954 as a labourer in the factory. On 23rd April 1966 he became a trainee ham boner, and on 21st October 1957 he was made a skilled tradesman. He was occupying this position on his retirement on 1st October 1964.
Mrs. P. R. Hunt who joined the firm as a kitchen hand in the factory on 20th January 1941. She later became a filler hand, and on her retirement on 1st November 1964 she was working in the sausage department.
E. Kensett who joined the firm as an assistant in 1922 a t Bedhill. He was later transferred to the Croydon area where he was in charge of despatch at 73 Croydon. In 1941 he was transferred to the fresh meat department a t this branch. In November 1943 he was appointed Head Butcher a t Oxted and he continued in this capacity until his retirement on 1st December 1964.
W. W. King who was engaged as a bacon stoveman a t Union Street on 27th September 1918. During the early part of the Second World War he was a t our Bramshott depot until he was called up for National Service. He resumed at Bramshott, and returned to Union Street as a bacon topman in 1945. In 1947 he was promoted to ganger, and in 1952 he was made a bacon scalesman. He retired on 1st November 1964.
Miss M. Down Mrs. K. Fitnum W. E. Howe Mrs. P. R. Hunt E. Kensett
H. W. D. Noble who was engaged In 1916 a t 51 Ipswich. The rest of his career was spent In East Anglla where he had experience in both the fresh meat and provisions departments. He retired from 48 Ipswich on 1st November 1964. Miss E. R. Paris who was engaged as a cashier at 193 Catford in 1920. She worked In various branches in south east London until she was appointed 1st clerk a t 193 Catford in 1941. She was transferred In 1943 to Lewisham as first clerk, and in 1945 was appointed Auditor. Prior to her retirement on 1st December 1964 she was responsible for branches in the South East and South West areas. H. G. Ward who joined the firm on 10th January 1916 as a warehouseman. He was subsequently promoted to despatch clerk, and on 19th December 1960 he became a stock-keeper in the grocery packing department, where he was employed until his retirement on 1st November 1964. C. H. Wood who was engaged originally In 1921 as a butcher's learner a t 87 Ealing. He subsequently resigned for a short period but on his re-engagement he went to 140 Finchley Road. In 1929 he was appointed Head Butcher a t South Harrow. He was later responsible for the fresh meat department a t 357 Harrow until it was closed. He was appointed Head Butcher a t Wealdstone in 1946 and remained in charge here until his retirement on 1st December 1964.
• t tm~ yL.3
H. W. D. Noble
Miss E. R. Paris
H.
C.
W
G. Ward
H. Wood
W. King
Obituaries We regret to record the death of the following colleagues and send our deepest sympathy to all relatives.
F. Gladwin who joined the firm on 18th February 1943 as a cleaner in the warehouse. During his career he was mainly employed on general duties, but on 1st May 1954 he was transferred to the Grocery Packing Department as a warehouseman. He died on 26th October 1964. A. H. Little was engaged originally as a driver in the Motor Transport Department in 1921. He retired in 1954, but returned for a short period when he was attached to the main canteen as a driver. He retired finally in June 1957. He died on 28th November 1964. R. P . Newman who joined the firm in 1931. He was employed in the Depot Maintenance Engineers Department. In 1950 he was promoted to Engineers Stores Supervisor. For the six years prior to his retirement on 30th June 1964 he was Stores and Depot Supervisor a t Lambeth Mews. He died on 23rd November 1964. G. H. Paddock who was engaged as a kitchen hand on 15th July 1940. He continued to work in the factory where he undertook several jobs prior to his retirement in 1958. He died on 17th October 1964.
( » )
F. Gladwin
31
Obituary Mr. S. J. Kn ight /Area Superintendent
Mr. Knight at the office desk in Watney Street Branch some years ago.
Lord Sainsbury writes:
SIDNEY JAMES KNIGHT was born on March 7th, 1910 and joined the firm in 1926, just before his sixteenth birthday. He started at Addiscombe branch and worked at other branches in the Croydon area until he moved to N.W. London and it was from Marylebone that he was appointed to his first management at 140 Finchley Road, Hampstead. The Finchley Road of those days was very much a district where the customer expected to have an account, frequent deliveries and a great deal of personal attention. From there, some six years later, Mr. Knight was transferred to an entirely different type of branch when he was appointed to the management of Wood Green, a busy market type
shop. He thereby proved at an early stage in his career his adaptability, which he was to show again later when he was responsible for the opening and successful launching of some of our large self-service stores. In June, 1944, he was appointed a District Supervisor in N.E. London under Mr. Farrow, and then in August, 1956 he was appointed a Superintendent. Throughout his career Mr. Knight was a great worker and never spared himself. He realised the essential importance of detail if standards were to be maintained. He was proud of the firm and its reputation, which he always sought to maintain and even enhance. Many have lost a very good friend and the firm an honoured member who served it well and faithfully.
Printed by King and Jarrett Ltd., London, S.E.U
.and then he buys this match factory gets all these poplars down into it and says to the MANAGER make me the best box of matches in the world
Besides being an ingenious man he is also a provident man so he soon has a mill as well as a match factory, this is
where all those 2nd, class poplars go
(and the sub-standard
bits from up top as well)
a rery practical arrangement
then it gets soaked and boiled in a mild chemical to prevent after-glow and so to the veneer shop. *
Here the b i l l e t s are turned into long strips of veneer by being rotated against the sharp knives of peeling machines. A thin veneer is cut for boxes, a thicker one for matches.
e e
ce
20 ill» In this store the paper used for boxes is kept and the labels and wrappers are printed. The designs are done by the MANAGER'S cousin who was in the Royal Ar t i l l e ry .
The vacumn pipe carr ies off the matchsticks to
the match making machine
Now for the hard part.The sticks have to be clamped t ight and held upright in their sections of a very long conveyor b e l t . Take a look at a match and you ' l l see the mark of the grip at i t s
foot . When they are a l l in posit ion the bel t looks like the back of an enormous hedgehog.
But i t s tar ts off into the match making machine with the sticks
pointing down.They are f i r s t dipped in hot parrafin wax,then dried and
the heads formed by raising (as the bel t passes over i t ) a large f l a t
tray ful l of liquid match-head compound so that jus t the t ips of t h e st icks are covered. This happens twice to make a strong head.
Then the bel t winds i t s way upwards through warm drying a i r and
the matches are
ejected into
the filling hopper
jttumm,"tm
JBEI3 DHCf\+ j
~Zi Next they w are fitted
together and labelled.
Here boxes (trays and outers) are being made from thin veneer, paper and cardboard.
The boxes are opened automatically to receive their contents measured out by very accurate mechanical gauges.Then they are shut and pass on to page 22 to get a striker surface on
each side.
21