Mouth-watering Memories of Midgley

Christmas decorations festoon the window of Midgley Co-op in 1949 where the reflection of a bus can just be glimpsed so was the occasion an outing to a pantomime? By kind permission of Mr Peter Robertshaw. Many of those present have been identified and are listed in Milltown Memories.Click photo to enlarge

Hilary Shackleton explains why she shopped at the "Kworp"

I didn't go to Halifax very often as I suffered from travel sickness so it was fortunate that we had Mr Lister's and Mrs Robinson's shops in Thorney Lane where we could buy sweets, pop, headache tablets and emergency rations. Buns were a great treat from Swindell's bakery.

Most of our shopping was done at the Co-op, however, pronounced "Kworp" by some people. It seemed huge to me. There was a row of chairs where you waited to be served, in front of which were the biscuit tins with glass in the lids so that you could see the Lincoln biscuits with little raised blobs, sugary Nice and oblong shortbread fingers. The tin at the end contained the cheaper broken biscuits.

Behind the chairs was the bacon counter. Cheese, lard and butter were cut with a wire into blocks before being neatly wrapped in grease-proof paper by Eric Horsfield, Leslie Steward or Reggie Smith. Auntie Chrissie Singleton worked there too, for a time, and Willie Greenwood was the manager.

Hilary's delightful reminiscences are illustrated with an amazing photo discovered by Peter Robertshaw, which he has painstakingly restored for Milltown Memories. Can you spot anyone you know?

Read the full story in Milltown Memories, issue 7. If this or other stories stirs a memory, we'd be happy to know - send us your memories and comments.

Don't miss our Summer 2004 issue on sale in June.