CO-OP Share Number

[Fouro]

Hi all,
My mother used to send me quite regular to the SCWS grocery shop in the village to get the "messages". She used to write down what I had to get on a piece of paper. The list always started :- butter, sugar, margarine, c/fat, cheese and so on. Before you could pay for the goods you had to go to the cash desk and exchange ordinary money for co-op tokens. You always had to have the family ration books before you could buy the main items. Also at that time you always had to produce "BU's" (bread units) before you could buy bread etc.
Everyone at that time said the baker's serenade was called " It had to be you".

Regards,
FOURO.

[happy daze john in oz]

Hi Bill
In answer to your 2nd question about camp coffee, yes it is still available although at times quite hard to get. My father in law uses it as he is diabetic and it was specially recommended.

Regards

I recall Camp coffee, but by the standards of today it may have been known as Gay coffee.

[Neil Morton]

Didn't we get little tin tokens for buying certain items. I used to go to the Co-op after Saturday morning pictires at the Morden, Surrey, Odeon. My sisters would play shops with them.

[Capt Bill Davies]

Slightly off thread but do you remember 'Nescafe' Sachets at 2 pence each or if that was out of your reach then you could buy 'Chico' sachets for 1 penny each.

Bill

[Bob Petty]

Butcher, baker, milkman, all with the coop number.
My granddad was buried with a coop funeral plan, the coop concept was a great idea.

[Bill Bland]

Ivor,you have brought back memories and I can see the CWS logo but I cannot remeber what the W stood for.
Regards.
Jim.B.

Cooperative Wholesale Soceity.never went in one of their stores. Ilfracombe was our nearest. the bus stop for combe martin was out side their door. bill bland

[David Williams]

Hi There.
The "W" stood for wholesale.

Dave Williams(R583900)

[Capt Bill Davies]

I don't know whether 'IRWANS' the grocers were peculiar to Merseyside or they were farther afield. I seem to remember as a boy around Wallasey they were on virtually every street corner.

Bill

[David Williams]

Hi Bill.
I was a cabin boy on the G.S.N.C. owned LAPWING.
The Cook Steward used to take me ashore to purchase
stores,in two large baskets,and sometimes this took more
that one trip.He would look for CWS stores,no one knew why,
then we found out that he was getting the Coop Dividend for
himself.This must have mounted up over a period of time.

Dave Williams(R583900)

[Brian Galloway]

Ivor,you have brought back memories and I can see the CWS logo but I cannot remeber what the W stood for.
Regards.
Jim.B.

I think it meant 'wholesale' Jim, with reference to the cheaper prices. The 'divvy' was paid out 4 times a year, and in N. Ireland we called it 'Co-Quarter'.
That's when your Xmas prezzies were bought or school uniforms etc. Mum and Dad always looked forward to Co-Quarter and Dad always got a wee half bottle of Scotch.
Memories.............
Brian Galloway