Bedford
High Street History
Places > Bedford > Streets > High Street
The International Stores - Grocers
121 High Street
Home | A Memory from the 1960s | Images
A Memory of the International Stores from the 1960s
Susan
Rabbit has lived for all but four of her sixty-three years in York Street. She
went to work at the International Stores after she left school. Having seen the
job advertised in the local paper, she was interviewed by the Assistant Manager,
Mr Ian Stanton. Susan started working there sometime in August, 1962. The
International Stores shop was situated at the top of the High Street, near to
the corner of St Peters Street. According to Kellys directories, the shop at
121 High Street started trading under that name between 1914 and 1920. Prior to
that, it was known as Bedford Supply Stores or Atkins & Smith.
In 1962, the Manager was Mr Tim Goodship, the brother of Peter Goodship, whom Susan and I knew at Russell Park Baptist Church. Susan worked with a lot of other people, including Miss Wagstaff, Mr Dicks, Miss Brooks, Miss Bowler, Mrs Warner, Mr Brown, Mr Burke, Mr Golder, Mr Ian Hedley, Mr Breen and Miss Daniels, amongst others. Two things that strike me from this list are the fact that everyone was referred to in a formal manner, rather than by their first name, which is the norm today, and the large number of staff that there were to lavish personal attention on the customers as they served them.
Susans job was to make up the orders and to serve on the cooked meat and cheese counter. She also made the tea and washed the floor late at night. She feels it was a good place to work, although it was hard work. She earned 3 12s 6d a week, which is 3.62 in todays money.
There was a wine counter on the left hand side of the shop and the tills were in the middle. Also on the left hand side was the vegetable and fruit section. On the right hand side was the cooked meat and cheese counter and the cold section (butter and margarine, etc.). There were shelves round the shop and in the middle. Out the back were, the storage place, the small office, walk-in fridges and the place where she made up the orders. Also, there were stairs leading to a storage space upstairs. There were toilets, etc. and a lift. Out the back, there was another storage space, called the Tabernacle, and this was where the van was kept. The van was driven by Norman and later by Miss Daniels.
Susan finished working at the International Stores in May, 1970. The shop closed at the beginning of the 1980s and was taken over by the Showboat Amusement Arcade. More recently, it has become the Reels Amusement Centre.
Elizabeth Mortimer 2011
Images
 |
|
 |
 |
Page last updated: 28th January 2014