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Birmingham (Industrial) Cooperative Society Shops

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This shop on St. Vincent Street Ladywood replaced the earlier one which had been on Monument Road.
 
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This one is Aldridge Road Great Barr but I do not have any more information. Although my mom used the Co-op in Lakey Lane Hall Green, this photo brings back countless memories of shopping when I was a nipper.
stitcher.
 
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I can only assume that this should be on the Co-op thread because it was with a large number of Co-op pictures and papers. The text says that the branch is unknown but the display was put together for an advertisement or promotion for the hardware dept.
I see they have used the same mangle as my mom.
 
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The Co-op formed it's own Fire Brigade during WW2. These pictures are from about 1941.
I think these are the last I have of The Co-op but I can't be certain until I have finished sorting my boxes.
 
img101.jpgWho knew that The Co-op had a factory in Tyseley manufacturing Pedal Cycles?
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And a wide range of toys. I didn't but I have just recieved these via Email to add to the thread.
 
The Coop provided quite a few cycles for the GPO, as Royal Mail used to be called
until the contract went National. Most of stiches photos are of The Birmingham Coop, which
was a seperate concern to the Ten Acres and Stirchley, althought they later all joined up as
one,still remember our number, 37918. Bernard
 
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May, 1947 and it is raining on the Co-operative's May Day Proxcession in Corporation Street.
 
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Birmingham Industrial Co-operative Society in Newdigate Street, they are the first six milkmen and stableboys. 1920.
 
HI GUYS

I Was wondering does anybody know just how many Co-op shops was around that they ever set up ;
yesterday my son took me to Upton-on-Severn Worcestershire its a village and it as a very small high street
with the old quaint little old fashioned shops of the original building they are tiny and still behind times in every sense. As we was walking along there was a shop and above the shop was a very long and kept sign encased within a oak frame and well preserved as it was varnished and it read in big bold old fashioned writing the Co-op stores number 5 branch and that started me to think I have not seen any branch in my life of travelling around which stated the branch number of the shop ; the shops up in Upton are listed building and there dates above the building started from 1861 upwards
so I thought I would put this on the forum for our older members whom may know when did the co-op ever set up shop?

It seems to me today the co-op as dwindled in number and i think personally those the goods are quality but pricey.

I Myself in my bedroom have a co/op branded dressing table with its name plate affixed inside of it so I wonder when did they make them could it be worth anything but I would like to know where was number I shop set up could it have been the city centre or where was it; does anybody know where it was ; ? ;
Have a nice day everybody best wishes Astonian; Alan ;;;;;;;
 
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Hi Alan,
Firstly, Pauline and I wish you a speedy recovery, your posts have been missed lately.

Co-op:
I believe the first Co-op [branch 1] was at Great Francis Street built 1881, but was called the Birmingham Industrial Co-op, but some time later the word 'Industrial was dropped to become The Birmingham Co-operative Society Ltd.

Ray.9 Nechells Great Francis St Co-op.jpg
 
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I assumed that Alan's question referred to the Cooperative movement as a whole not just the Birmingham branches as he mentions the Cooperative in Upton on Severn.

I quote form the Society's history -

1844

Rochdale Pioneers Society established, starting a period of phenomenal co-operative growth. Based on their eight 'Rochdale rules', including distributing a share of profits according to purchases that came to be known as 'the divi'.

The rest of the history can be read HERE
 
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I assumed that as Alan was born in Aston, he was indicating the BCS - Birmingham Co-operative Society................................

But then we all know what to assume can imply!

Pauline.
 
There's some information and photo about Upton-on-Severn Co-Op no. 5 here.
https://ipswich-lettering.org/winchcombe.html
I believe all Co-Op shop had a branch number which many of the older shops included in the shop sign.
The book "The Co-Op in Birmingham" suggests there were over 150 branches in Birmingham.


Colin
 
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As far as the BCS goes, I worked at their No6 Grocery branch in 1956/57.
Adjoining was No6 Butchery.
That was on Moseley Rd Balsall Heath.
(Then, of course, there was also TASCOS around the city).
 
hi bernard and the gang;
Bernard many thanks for putting the further infomation on the thread about the history of the co/op
Also i include colin for that little bit more info; which i am taking on board
and of course pauline; to say ;yes i was born in Aston next to Ansells brewery . and yes i was aware of the co/op nation wide even at
a very early age and not just for brum and i knew they was virtulay nation wide ;
and i know they had big ware housing in A B row a masive one there for all there provisions and furtiture ; an bedding
also they kept a very large provision ware house in freeth street ladywood because i lived and worked in ladywood and a girl named sandra i was courting lived directly oppesite it ;
i will get my son to take me back to upton to take the picture ; thanks guys ;
best wishes Astonian;; Alan;;;;;;
 
Hi Alan funnily enough we have began using the co op once again as they have a good variety of meat product. The Hale and Towyn branches a massive where they have most things in stock and lots of knock down prices. The ones closest to us are Hawthorne road and Kingstanding road but are quite small and don't stock the products I bought at the larger branches. I am going to join and receive bonus points and special offers through the post. I love Upton On Seven and used to swim there in my younger days.
 
Astonian said:
hi bernard and the gang;
Bernard many thanks for putting the further infomation on the thread about the history of the co/op
Also i include colin for that little bit more info; which i am taking on board
and of course pauline; to say ;yes i was born in Aston next to Ansells brewery . and yes i was aware of the co/op nation wide even at
a very early age and not just for brum and i knew they was virtulay nation wide ;
and i know they had big ware housing in A B row a masive one there for all there provisions and furtiture ; an bedding
also they kept a very large provision ware house in freeth street ladywood because i lived and worked in ladywood and a girl named sandra i was courting lived directly oppesite it ;
i will get my son to take me back to upton to take the picture ; thanks guys ;
best wishes Astonian;; Alan;;;;;;
Click to expand...
Alan the link that Colin put up shows the shop and the signage of which you were talking. You need to scroll down towards the bottom of the page.
 
I was wondering if you had to give the "Co-op" number in the large branch in Town, or was it just for food? I remember going in the local one for Mom, and the number, also Nan's number, but I can't remember when those little tickets stopped? They had books of them with carbon paper and tiny little tear-off tickets in blue or green or pink. The milkman had them too!
rosie.
 
rosie said:
I was wondering if you had to give the "Co-op" number in the large branch in Town, or was it just for food? I remember going in the local one for Mom, and the number, also Nan's number, but I can't remember when those little tickets stopped? They had books of them with carbon paper and tiny little tear-off tickets in blue or green or pink. The milkman had them too!
rosie.
Click to expand...

I still remember our Co-op number...In fact, I use it for my wi-fi security code.

Dave A
 
I thought you gave the number for any shopping done at the Co-Op. I can still quote my Nan and my Mom's numbers. Funny what sticks in your memory! My Dad still knows his Mom's (my other Gran) and it must have been an early number as it is less than 6 digits.

Janice
 
Hi Janice,

I think it must haver been an early one too. We came to Brum in the early 50's
and our Coop number was 309537.

Kind regards

Dave
 
The two numbers I remember both begin with a 1. My Gran married in 1924 so I imagine would then have joined. i don't know when it started in Birmingham.

Janice
 
Well that would seem to fit in with things as our co-op number started with 2 and my parents were married in 1930 and they would no doubt have joined then.
 
People would say that the co-op number was like your army number, never forgotten.
 
I would like to know how the co-op dividend was computed. Every transaction, all the shops, the milkman, bread man, you would give your co-op number which would be written on a small ticket with the amount spent in a book.

All this information was then somehow correlated to pay people their dividend, how on earth did they do this?
 
Nan used to keep all the little tickets in a jam-jar on the kitchen shelf. I sometimes forgot and gave Mom's number without thinking, the other gran used to get quite upset!
rosie.
 
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