My grandfather, Sydney Weaver and his brother helped George Foster in the very early stages of the company. My grandad retired in about 1966 on his 70th birthday, he was a buyer and at one time head pattern cutter. His brother managed several of their shops around Birmingham including I think their very first store. I must check this out with my mum cos she knows some of the history. I'm not sure when grandad would have started working for the company but my guess is sometime in the early 1920s, if not before ... but he and his brother served in WW1 and I think grandad would have been too young to have worked prior to the war. Hmm, not sure those dates add up, I will have to go back to the albums I have several old photos of the counting house, and my mum remembers loving going to the factory cos all the ladies working there gave her sweets.
I also came across an astonishing momento that we have in our family photo collection ... a souvnir programme from the Great National Horse Show at Madison Square Gardens, New York from 1910 ... and I quote' Photos of the ponies sent by Mr William Foster, from his celebrated stud, Mel-Valley, Moseley, Birmingham' This must have been George Foster's dad.
As my grandad was born in 1896,, I don't suppose there will be many if any people who would remember him, but maybe someone knows the name? If there are any members of the Forster family out there and want to know more about the stud ponies, respond to this and I will get in touch.