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Lewis's Department Store

:)There was always a man to operate the lift in Lewis's, he even announced what floor and what was there...Ladies..Childrens...Gents etc...He had a little seat and wore a uniform & Gloves.
 
Chris B. I really enjoyed reading your very detailed stories Chris, what a great memory you have! Nice to know not everyone suffers apparent pre-senile dementia. I can't remember names at all and have often been stuck when bumping into an old work colleague.
Lewis's seemed a very happy place for it's workers as I've met several over the years who thoroughly enjoyed their time there and wished it was still trading.
 
I remember as a child being stuck in one of the glass-sided lifts at Lewis's. The lift was packed when it broke down between floors and I was jammed in the corner looking out at the cables down the lift shaft. I was petrified. Unfortunately I have always been nervous of lifts since then.

I remember there used to be a small zoo on the top floor near the Toy Dept. My sister had her photo taken with a baby lion cub - she was standing behind glass at the back of the lion's cage but it looked as though she was in the cage with it.

Every year we went to see Father Christmas in his Grotto on the top floor, and had to queue for ages up the stairs to get there. There was an open drop from the top to the bottom floors and I think they closed the stairs off after a child fell down it.

What a shame it closed down, it was a wonderful store.
 
Lewis's Pets Corner

My father worked at Lewis's and was friendly with the manager of the pets corner. I thought he was the person who died after being bitten by a parrot. All the pets corner closed after this incident, this saw the opening of the roof gardens to lure shoppers in to the store.

A point not probably of much interest was that the lifts had a D.C. supply, they were so reliable that when the city centre change over from D.C to an A.C. supply rectifiers were installed to keep them operating.
 
They did have escalators in Lewis's. While my mother shopped I used to play with the moving handrail, usually sticking bits of paper on to see if they would come back. One day I was dragged up by it when my signet ring caught in a hook where the belt was joined. I traveled some distance before the ring broke and I fell in to the pile of empty biscuit tins stacked at that point. I seemed to remember it caused quite a commotion.
 
All I remember of the restaurant were those nickerbocker glory's they sold for
2/6 ( 12p + 1/2 pence ) OHHH So Wonderful.
 
More about Lewis's

Hi All,
just remembered I was supposed to post some more thoughts about Lewis's. During the time I was working on the Gardening dept we used have "Mobile Sales Staff" available to cover holidays illness etc' and you used to phone the staff office to ask for one or two mobiles for the day, my future wife June started as a mobile and on this day she was sent to the gardening dept,' when she arrived she was only 5 foot nothing and she had difficulty reaching the big brown 4 drawer tills, plus the fact they allocated her a drawer in the top rank, and although she wore stiletto heels to come to work she changed into flat shoes whilst on the job, double jeopardy, so I found an empty daffodil bulb crate and put it upside down by the till for her to stand on to operate the thing. She had also worked on the ice cream not the machines but one of the freezers by the door in the Minories / Bull st entrance, being of diminutive stature on one occassion to serve an ice cream she had to lean that far into the fridge her feet were off the ground and she nearly fell in and lost her hat in the freezer. I used to get in early some mornings so that I could drive the lift and take the girls from the audit office to the departments to read the tills and change the till rolls. ( There were quite a few dolly birds in that office) For some fun sometimes I would peg the lift operating handle over with my pen, put the lights out and tip toe around the lift car and make them jump, oh the screams that filled the air, but it was all good clean fun, it wouldn't be politically correct today (how boring). My girlfriend June eventually had a regular position on the electrical section in the basement, and when the staff sold a mains tester screwdriver they usually opened the side of the till and stuck it on the positive connection to show the customer the neon glowed o.k, so June thought that was a good idea, when she sold one she opened the door and stuck the metal end in and the promptly slipped, and in so doing the metal end of the screwdriver shorted across the 2 terminals and there was a blue flash and the entire sales island was in darkness, "OOpps". The Merchandise Manager Mr Cashin had this little saying if some member of staff was not to clever, he would say "they lack the divine spark" he was very good to me and put me forward for promotion, when I had to go for the interview I wasn't wearing a white shirt, the one I had on had a small check design, "You can't go in that" he said, "Go to the mens wear dept and get a white one and have it charged to my account". After we left we kept in touch with him as he had now retired, by sending christmas cards and the occassional visit, he had moved up to the Manchester area and set up shop in partnership with a friend of his, one of the last cards we had off him before he died said "nearly the last to remember me" which we found a bit sad, after that we didn't get another one so we assumed as you do that he had died.

Regards Chris B
 
Chris.

I also worked at Lewis's and and remember Mr Harris, Miss Carter and Mr Leamington, do you remember a Mrs Waldron who workd in the six floor personel offices?

My sisiter-in-law also worked in the store, and I remember one lunch time, we went to have a photograh taken with two chimps this was associated with a promotion taken place at the time, We smiled our biggest smiles, the camera clicked and just at that prescise moment the chimp I was holding peed on me. I certainly was not smiling when I returned to my deprtment, smelling of a chimps pee. Needless to say sister -in-law laughed herself silly. So would you if you saw the photograph.
Maggie
 
Hi Maggie,
I can vaguely remember the name but I can't put a face to the person, they were good old days, we thought we had problems then but little did we know !!! lol
Regards Chris B
 
My parents would shop only at Lewis's for major purchases like furniture, carpets and so forth. To my mother, Lewis's was respectable, even though their prices were higher than plenty of other places.

I well remember going to Lewis's with Mom one Saturday, and as a treat she took me up to the toy department (fifth floor?) and after she let me mooch around for a while it was time to go. When we got into the lift the operator closed the doors and said, "Going down - Ladies Underwear". Mom said something like, 'I beg your pardon?', but I didn't get the joke (?) until she explained it to me long afterwards - when I was about 37, I think. But nevertheless it's stuck in my mind all these years.

Big Gee
 
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Hi Chris,
I've been fascinated reading your memories of Lewis's. It seems you were working there about the same time as me. I worked in the Record Department (first of all on the 4th floor and then in the shop in the underpass). Did you ever go in there, if so you may remember me (Avril). You said in your first message that you worked in the gardening dept. My ex-husband also worked there about the same time as you. His name is Richard Coates. Do you remember him? You also recalled operating the lifts at times. By coincidence, my present husband also operated the lifts at about that time, maybe you will remember him - Tom Civil.
Like you, I loved working there and have some very happy memories of my time there.
Avril :)
 
Hi Avriljean,
yes I do remember the record store under the concourse on the Bull Street corner, I vaguely remember the name Richard Coates, but I can't put a face to the name. One of my failings is remembering names, I can pick a face out of crowd of 100 people and tell you all about the person except the name, to my eternal embarassment. Was it Ivor Watkins that was the manager of the record shop at one time ? On the "A" block side I can only remember Albert the miserable staff lift driver, Frank the supervisor, Mrs Batchelor, and Mrs Attenborough. On the "B" block side there was Joe the supervisor and Staff lift driver, a very tall thin guy with a shirt collar that was 3 sizes too big, then the rest of them were part time fire men, scooter Coombs, Ginger Jones, Bill Carrington.
Regards Chris B
 
Hi Judy39,
it's a shame that you have a bit of a fear of travelling in a lift, it is a recognised fact that it is the safest form of travel invented, the accident rate is so low compared with other forms of travel, oh well there is always the escalator.
Regards Chris B
 
:DanceBallerina3: I remember visiting the zoo on the roof when a monkey put his arm through and scratched my eye. I had to go to hospital for treetment. That is a photo of myself with father xmas and the other is of my cousins from West Brom. My husbands treat at Lewis's was a nicker bocker glory. He loves them even to this day. TTFN. Jean.:DanceBallerina2:
 
re lewisis

hi mom took us to see father xmas.and uncle holly,who was uncle holly?
and to round it of a nicker bocker glory,yumyum:D pete
 
Hi Gee Gee Jean,
those are great picks the look on your face is a revelation. Are you sure that they were taken at Lewis's as I seem to remember that Father Christmas's throne was a magnificent fancy ornately carved golden one, and usually Uncle Holly complete with top hat etc was always close by, also Father Christmas's beard was long and curly, and his outfit was was more sumptuous, could these pics' have been taken in the Co-op in High Street ?
Regards Chris B
 
can anyone rmember this.

years ago ,cant remember exactly, around the fifties maybe .on the roof of lewises, a man who was doing a handstand for charity, he balanced very near the edge ,doing acrobatic stunts to the crowds ,some childrens fund i think.
 
Mum tells me, that when I was about three she took me to Lewis's to get my hair cut - (yes THE wooden animal chairs) and 'Lenny the Lion' was there. She says that when it was my turn to meet him, I screamed and screamed! Well, you would, wouldn't you!!!
 
Hi Chris B

I seem to remember the manager of the record dept. when I worked there was a Mr. Robinson (can't remember his first name), although the name Ivor Watkins also rings a tiny bell in my mind. Maybe he took over after Mr. Robinson left.

Avril
 
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