Gunners the Butchers
Christmas 1950
By Ray Crawley
Donated by Ray Crawley
When I was seventeen I worked at a butcher's shop about halfway along the parade of shops. It's not there now. It was called Gunner's. At that time meat rationing was still in force so it was a big help to my mother as the 'guv', as he was called, gave all the staff some meat every Friday! It wasn't much, a couple of chops for example, but it was very welcome.
At Christmas 1950 we had to truss lots of chickens and turkeys. I remember the day before my first Christmas Eve at the shop. The guv had told me to come in early as it was going to be our busiest day. I was looking forward to it as we had a staff box on the counter and money was short. So I was up and getting ready to leave at 7 a.m. when there was a hammering at our front door. It was Steve and Fred from the shop. "Come on," they said, "where have you been? We've been on the go since five o'clock!"
When we arrived at the shop it was all lit up with the window dressed with turkeys, etc. I can still remember that sight. It was still dark except for our shop and it really was a seasonal picture. After we pulled the shutters down, the staff box was shared out and the guv took me and Fred over to The Rose for a Christmas drink. I had my first whisky and I think it was my first visit to a pub! Afterwards I bought lots of fruit from the barrows with my bit of cash to take home for my mum. That was the best Christmas after the war years.
The staff that I can still recall were the 'Guv', Fred, Steve, Barbara on the till with another girl and old Bill - he was short, loved a bet on the horses and was a vet from WW1.