Wigan Album

Must have been a very busy shop with all those assistants, suppose the men looked after the bacon with boning it (resulting in many a nicked finger) and then slicing it. When as kids and seeing it being delivered to the local shop, we would say that it was wrapped up in old sacking, but it would have been clean hessian or burlap and a lot better than plastic wrap.

I'm pretty sure that's Latimer's, Veronica....fantastic photo. The Co-op in "First of the Summer Wine", (the prequel to "Last Of"), is set out just like that, with the actresses fetching and carrying for the customers instead of "self-service", and I would have loved to have walked onto that film-set!

Veronica, it could possibly be Peterkins later Coopers which was situated next door to The UCP,
on Market St. I'm not sure and Latimer's is also a possibility.

Whichever shop it is it’s absolutely spotless and so tidy. There’s not as many assistants in the big stores there’s days as there are working there. Plus you had to be good at ‘reckoning up’..and in some shops writing receipts out with everything totalled and
‘‘ Paid with Thanks”. ‘Service with a smile’ the customer is always right.

I can remember my Mam being served at the Co-op, (which we always called "t'Cworp"), in Ince Green Lane. My Mam asked for every item she required and the assistant brought it to the counter and then added all the amounts up on a long narrow strip of white paper. She used a pencil that was kept either behind her ear or attached to her waist on a length of elastic. She added the cost up top-to-bottom and then bottom-to top. She then gave my Mam a little yellow "divi" ticket which was taken home and stuck to a "divi" sheet, and every year the Co-op paid out the "divi"! There were pyramids of tins displayed artistically around the shop, and a chair with "Rest-U" painted on it for customers to sit on whilst waiting their turn. It was another world back then!

It looks like latimers on market dtreeteigan.at the back on the right hand side was mr Latimer's and miss Latimer's office also on the right was an equally long counter.l worked for Latimer's for a while but can't recognize any of the staff in the photo.Tommy Dutch was the manager, he lived in shevington and was usually responsible for the writing on the windows.l remember he and a lady assistant called Lillian from marsh green l think had a cup of complan together every day.

My Aunt was called Lily but she didn’t come from Marsh Green she did live in Pemberton though. ( If there’s a difference..). She was a lovely person and she joined the WAAF’s in the late 40’s / early Fifties. I have posted a photo of her in the dark dress.

There are interesting elements in the photo when it's magnified, over on the left there's a display side table with canned products from Heinz - you can't mistake the label, to the rear right of this and up on the counter there are paper bags on a rack and the usual shop balance scales, and further along and off the counter is another display unit, on this there is a large round tin with a Duck's head on the lid, Confit de Canard perhaps?
Over on the right there is a lady with a baby in pram, this has a large wicker shopping basket strapped between the pram handles. Also, the shop assistants are wearing overall coats that are differently styled, and possibly of different colours too, maybe portraying which job they do; or which rung of the corporate ladder they are on. "Are you free"!

Veronica what was her name and DoB ?If she's on the censers it may say where she worked .

Not sure of her birth but I think she would have been born in Grt George St Wallgate around 1930. She was the daughter of Edna Yates (nee Crompton ) and Thomas Yates. She was younger than my Mother who was born in 1923. Edna died in 1936 so the 5 daughters were brought up by their father. Probably helped by their Grandmother Winnie.

Her name is / was Lillian but called Lily.

Name Thomas Yates
Gender Male
Marital Status Widow
Birth Date 20 May 1895
Residence Date 1939
Address 10 Sherwood Crescent
Residence Place Wigan, Lancashire, England
Occupation Colliery Metal Worker (Under Ground Heavy Worker Thomas Yates 1895 Miner
Edna Yates 1922 Roving Carrier Card Room Cotton Factory
Elizabeth Yates 1924 Doffer Cotton Factory
This record is officially closed.
This record is officially closed.
This record is officially closed.

Thank you Winnie - Edna was the oldest and Elizabeth was the next.
Granddad worked in the mines. I don’t know what the job was that he did. It sounds very hard anyway. A metal worker? Perhaps some men would know what that entailed on here.