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Cooperative Laundry

oldMohawk

oldMohawk

gone but not forgotten
Edit. Posts #1 and #2 copied to here from the Co-op shops thread.
Not a shop but an impressive line up of Co-Op electric laundry vehicles in Acocks Green 1948. I'm not sure but perhaps the building and brick chimney behind is the laundry and they appear to be camouflaged. The Co-Op Laundry is briefly mentioned in posts below.
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/woodcock-lane-bridge-grand-union.17161/
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/electric-milk-floats.35565/#post-416895
co op laundry1948.jpg
 
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Found a copy of the laundry picture in a book. Agrees with the 1948 date and confirms that the building is the laundry which eventually closed in 1975, still with its camouflage!
 
There was a substantial laundry building on Holyhead Road as well as laundries at Acocks Green and Clay Lane, Yardley. I'd never heard of them until I read the Co-op book by L&A Chew. Don't know if these were just for industrial laundry or whether individual households used them too.

My mum would never have dreamed of sending her washing to a laundry. We had no washing machine so it meant a trip to the local laundrette when these opened up, otherwise everything was done by hand, wash tub and mangle.

Some images from the Chew publication.
image.jpeg image.jpeg

The staff, predominantly female (of course), weren't entirely happy in 1939. Viv.

image.jpeg
 
My mom would send sheets to the laundry. A man in a van would pick them up, then drop tem bask a week or so later in a brown paper parcel tied up with string. I thought the Laundry in Goosemore Lane was co-op
 
The image of the camouflaged laundry premises above post #1 was taken in 1948, in 1939 the Co Op opened the laundry in Clay Lane Yardley / Acocks Green but was soon requisitioned by The Rover Co for war work, hence the camouflage paint job. It was returned to the Co Op in 1946 and eventually closed in 1970 when the Laundry moved to Handsworth.
 
Hi Vivienne14.
Long shot as this post is a couple of years old.
Do you have any more more photos of the handsworth Laundry, and the ISBN number of the book you mention. I love history and now work at this Laundry and would love to find out more about it. Many thanks :)
 
Stubris73 said:
Hi Vivienne14.
Long shot as this post is a couple of years old.
Do you have any more more photos of the handsworth Laundry, and the ISBN number of the book you mention. I love history and now work at this Laundry and would love to find out more about it. Many thanks :)
Click to expand...
My dad used to work at Laundry are there any other people who used to work there ?
 
To be precise, the Acocks Green laundry was situated on the corner of The Vineries and Woodcock Lane N. I know because I lived just up the road , opposite the Rover works, and once had a holiday job in the laundry a few years before it closed.
 
Phil said:
The image of the camouflaged laundry premises above post #1 was taken in 1948, in 1939 the Co Op opened the laundry in Clay Lane Yardley / Acocks Green but was soon requisitioned by The Rover Co for war work, hence the camouflage paint job. It was returned to the Co Op in 1946 and eventually closed in 1970 when the Laundry moved to Handsworth.
Click to expand...
Hi, I have a 1966 Co-op directory which lists the address of the Birmingham Co-op Lauundry as Woodcock Lane North, Acocks Green. The Holyhead Road Handsworth and Goosemoor Lane Erdington addresses are also listed.
 
Green Girl said:
To be precise, the Acocks Green laundry was situated on the corner of The Vineries and Woodcock Lane N. I know because I lived just up the road , opposite the Rover works, and once had a holiday job in the laundry a few years before it closed.
Click to expand...
This sounds right. I have a 1966 Co-op directory which lists the address of the Birmingham Co-op Laundry as Woodcock Lane North, Acocks Green. The Holyhead Road Handsworth and Goosemoor Lane Erdington addresses are also listed.
 
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Does anyone remember George Buckley? I think he was the general manager for a while. My father John Buckley was area manager for a few years too. This was up to the 70s I believe.
 
oldMohawk said:
Edit. Posts #1 and #2 copied to here from the Co-op shops thread.
Not a shop but an impressive line up of Co-Op electric laundry vehicles in Acocks Green 1948. I'm not sure but perhaps the building and brick chimney behind is the laundry and they appear to be camouflaged. The Co-Op Laundry is briefly mentioned in posts below.
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/woodcock-lane-bridge-grand-union.17161/
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/electric-milk-floats.35565/#post-416895
View attachment 123646
Click to expand...
That’s my Grandfather George Buckley at the front, thank you for this x
 
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