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Greys Department Store

To dav19390

Hi again,

I can't find the list but have come up with some more names. Maybe there will be too many for your mother-in-law to cope with though.

Mr Morgan- Office Manager
Mr Ralph " "

Sue Barnett- wages dept, lived in Four Oaks, Suton Coldfield
Christine " "

Penny worked in the cash office (!!)

Margaret Bromley - Hire Purchase office lived Bordesley Green
*Sandra " " "
*Johnny Bullock " " "
* these two married each other

main large office=
Sylvia Knight from Kitts Green
Margaret Smith who lived Chester Rd, Streetly
Roger Sutton who married Collette who also worked in offices.
Linda Cragg and her disabled father operated a lift at Greys

Cynthia Dyke - typist lived Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield
Pat Green - typist lived at Duddeston

In the store there were:
Mr Gadd- Hardware Buyer, live at Abbey Road, Warley
his son ,Ivan Gadd, worked on Net Curtain dept
Mr Middleton Net Curtain Buyer

and last, but not least, George the Commissionaire.
 
Fleur de Lys pies were made at a pub in Lowsenford, you could eat inside or in the outside garden as well as Steak & Kidney they sold Chicken & Mushroom pies and cartons of beef dripping, it was a very popular pub and very often you were unable to find a seat.
 
Alf, i would think that it had a decorative flower (ie ) the lily on the top...Cat
 
Greetings
Greys is in the background of this film [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBmfVvzW1bg"]YouTube - WMPTE Travelcard Bus JOJ820[/ame] the film was shot near to Snow Hill Station when I shot the film it was being used as a car park
 
Most Sundays my Dad would drive Mom, Nan, Grandad and me out in the afternoon (to the country not out of the house!) and if we went south we would often end up at the Fleur de Lys at Lowsenford for a pint and a pie. We'd normally try to sit by the canal at the back of the pub garden but often all the seats would be taken. Many years later (late 80's early 90's) I went back and took my boss for dinner there. He was German and wanted to see a "typical" country pub. Although we had a nice meal there were no signs of the pies! When I asked the landlord about them he was quite dismissive. Never went back!
 
I have a picture from April 1959 of their Steelhouse Lane store but I always thought their main store was in Bull Street backing on to the Great Wester Arcade.

George
 
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I worked at Greys, later Debenhams, 1972 to 1974. The take over happened in these years. I worked in the cash office for Mr Ralph and then the HP Office. I remember Dot Smith who came to the offices off the shop floor. In the cash office its was run by Vic and old lady even then, and second incommand was Shirley. When securicor brought in the cash in the afternoons she would primp herself up for the guards. At 16 we thought this hugely funny especially when she was about 20+ stone and phew.....say no more.

Somewhere tucked away on one of the lower floors, 2nd i think, there was a door marked 'EDWARD GREEY' in gold letters and no that is not a spelling mistake. Never found out what was behind that door.
 
Hi Ex Brummie,
I have just sent you a private message to tell you that I worked at Grey's and have now seen that you did too.

In 1965, when I left, there was a woman called Penny in the cash office!!!, Was she still still there when you were there?

My friend, Margaret Bromley, worked in the H.P. office with Jill/Gill ( who was a blonde girl) and Johnny Bull who married Sandra from that office. Margaret married by about 1967.

I remember Mr Ralph, he had his office between mine and Tony French's office and the Cash Office.

There were other offices on the 2nd floor for the secretary Miss Smallwood and the 2 Mr Greys. I think that their name was actually Greey ( with 2 e's) I seem to remember the sign above the older one's office door. We rarely saw the men but one day I was manning the 2 busy switchboards, the Tannoy system and the coded security lights on my own and the younger man came to see me. I was supposed to answer their eyeballs first on the switchboards but this particular day was so hectic that I didn't so he came to see me and tried to help.

The coded coloured lights were to signal the Shopwalkers as we called them then who were two ladies going around and looking like normal customers but were out to catch shop thieves. Another was for George, the Commissionaire, who always wore his posh uniform.

There was an old hidden staircase near the Switchboard room that I used to use to escape the busy shop, especially when the January sales were on.

Can you remember anymore names from the offices? I can recall quite a few (there are some on an earlier page of this thread) that I know by heart and also have a list somewhere. I know some from the shop floors too.
 
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George:

Yes, Grey's was on Bull Street and backed onto the Great Western Arcade where there was an entrance that I, as staff, had to use when we left at night. In the morning we went to a side entrance off Bull Street to clock in by the Despatch Office.

I think the Steelhouse Lane place was just a warehouse.

Grey's also had stores in other towns including Worcester, Leamington and Walsall.
 
I remember Graham Eite (he has done very well - see on freinds reunited) from menswear. Mr Gadd from beds, i think. Dot Gough who came to the office from the shop floor, Jackie Perry, SUsan Groves, Ann Cain, Debbie Tuffin, and Mr Peakman who was the blond accountant and eventually married someone in the office after lots of gossip. Vic who ran the cash office. i cant remember the names of the ladies in the wages office. we were on the 5th floor with toys outside on the shopfloor. Do you remember old mr. Orr. Mr Morgan frightened the life out of me, i was only 16/17. We had food vouchers for the canteen on the 6th floor. Sausage rolls and tomato sauce for breakfast, everyday, tut.
I remember at Christmas we were told to work over every night and later still on Thursdays, and we didnt even think of asking for extra pay!!
We all loved the ground floor, but would spend all our wages on make-up.
 
Yes, I remember blonde Mr Morgan in the offices. I went to him one day and asked for a pay rise as I then lived in Four Oaks and had to travel in by the expensive Midland Red bus and the fares went up to half a crown (2/6d in old money) a day. He gave me an extra ten shillings and told me not to tell the others. Most people were scared of him.

Also the TWO Mr Gadd, the senior one worked in the basement (think it was crockery dept) and his son, Ivan, worked on 4th floor on net curtain dept. I used to go out with Ivan when I was 16 in 1964. They lived in Warley. They used to go to Lyon's tea room in the basement of the shop which was a door or two away from Grey's in the morning before going into work with Mr Middleton (Buyer for net curtain dept) and the Buyer of Housewares from the basement.

In Wages was Sue Barnett (my friend), she married Roger Wood, Christine from Perry Common and an older lady in charge when I was there in 63-65

Till office: Vera, Jean, Janet Aston (her father worked as a Buyer in the store), and an elderly lady Mrs Smith.

Typists: Gloria Gamble from Sutton Coldfield, Margaret from Castle Bromwich, Mrs Clarke worked part time, Pat Green from Duddeston, Jill who wore white lipstick and I worked in there for awhile after being with Tony French and Sue Woodhall who they called Key-hole Kate.

I hated the 6.30 closing on Thursdays as we usually had nothing to do, and preferred to work all day Saturday. We used to alternate Weds and Sat. afternoons off so I asked to change it so that I would be there all of Saturday every week.

Office staff could have an extra job if they got into work a little early, they "cleared" some tills (set them up for the day) in the shop for 9d a week. 9d seemed like a lot of money to me in those days!!!!

If we clocked in late too many times then our holiday time was reduced.

The dining voucher was for 1/- (one shilling in old money/5p in new currency). I always tried to get something for dinner that wouldn't cost any extra. Tea was 3d in the staff dining room or 6d if we went in the Quickie public restaurant on 5th floor. The Buyers normally went to a a restaurant on the 5th floor,next to the Quickie Restaurant, where there were cloths on the tables and I think they had waitress service.

We sometimes worked on a Sunday when the shop was closed. I think we got double pay and could take radios in. There were coach trips too, we had to board the coach in the Old Square by Lewis's.

Dorothy and Christine worked on dress materials on the first floor, I went to the Brum Cavern in Small Heath with them and met my husband there when we were all young girls in 1964.
 
hi. if jean was petite i think it was she who married Terry Peakman. And im sure i remember a Mrs Clarke. When i was there 72-74 basement was records, ground was menswear and make up etc, 2nd was materials - haberdashery, 3rd laieswear i believe - so old fashioned i hardly went there and 4 was beds, then 5th was toys and hp. and little Alice Laffan worked in hp. I remeber having to ask women to get their husbands to sign credit agreements. How awful. 6th floor was stores and window dressing. The lift was operated by Graham not the happiest chappy sometimes. The safe was in the basement tucked away and was actually a whole room (small) and we had to open the door with great resistance after the pressure built up over night, and then go in and dish out the floats to all the tills.
 
Yes, Jean from the till office was very petite so I think this must be the same Jean that we are talking about.

There was a Mr Cragg too, a disabled man, who used to operate one the gated lifts. He had a daughter, Linda, who worked in one of the other offices who looked very much like me so sometimes people muddled us up especially when we were wearing the same clothes. We used to get our pay packet on a Friday and then head off separately to C&A or M&S and it often turned out that we bought the same clothes! Pleated skirts were all the go then (aswell as straight ones) and button-up cardigans from M&S that cost 29/11d which were expensive out of our wages.
I rarely bought anything from Grey's but do remember a blue and white dress with a Peter Pan collar. Mom came in one day to buy me a coat, it was massive on me as I am tiny so it had to be altered by stafff up on the 6th floor. It was still too big.

"Please Please Me" by the Beatles was played over and over again down in the record dept. in the basement so then Mr Gadd (senior) had it banned!

The store also had its own nurse who had an office by the lifts on 5th floor.

I still have an Addis dustbrush and broomhead that the staff bought me when I got married in 1965. It was part of a set with a washing up bowl. They also got me some Pyrex dishes that I still have and a tablecloth.

The TV programme "Are You Being Served" always reminded me of Grey's.
 
Hi Michael

I have just seen the postcard written from Greys that you put on the Forum. I was amazed to see that it was written to someone in Felixstowe which is where I now live. I have lived in Birmingham all my life but retired down here. What a coincidence.
The postcard says its the civic centre but the picture shows the town hall. I actually worked at the Civic Centre behind the Hall of Memory.
Thank you so much for showing that postcard - it links my lovely Birmingham to where I now live.
WendyP
 
Wendy
the picture on the postcard looks as if it might have been taken 1920s or early 1930s, before the civic centre was build (1930s ?). Presumably the civic centre would then have been in the council house on the left. As i understand it, Baskerville house wasn't occupied till just before the second world war .
mike
 
Yes Mike, Civic Centre (Baskerville House) was built in the 30's I think. I worked in the planning department, starting in 1959. I understand if has all been refurbished and is offices again now.
WendyP
 
Hi katyboo: Grey's became Debenhams in the l970's and as far as I remember there was only one Henry's store in Birmingham and it was located on Union Street.
 
I remember Henry's - it had entrances from the arcade off New St (where marvellous Marshalls and Snelgroves were) - and I also recall two things about it - a) it always seemed to smell of methalated spirts to me as a child and b) I was once convinced whilst shopping there with my Mother one afternoon that we were going to get locked in as they were switching the lights off! Amazing, after over 40 years I can still remember that vividly! I have to say my favourite store was Barrow's, down by the old MidEd.
 
MIKEYA: Yes, Grey's employed disabled people to attended the lifts. Mr Cragg was one of them while I was there 1963-65, He had a daughter, Linda, who worked in the offices who looked very much like me.

I remember Henry's too with its peculiar smell. It stood where Boots is now opposite Marks and Spencers.
 
Henrys had their first store on the corner of High St and Bull St before moving to Union St late 50s I believe. Dek
 
Love all the seats available for customers. Over the years seating in stores disappeared. Shame. I loved Grey's it was a great place to shop.
Yes, Dek Henry's did have a shop where you said before the Union Street shop was opened. I like this ad of theirs and the prices. I had a great time in the later Hebry's which was a jumbly place but lots of bargains. https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=38748&page=6
 
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