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Midland Counties Dairy

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Tame Valley, Perry Barr Midland Counties Dairy Ltd



Nicklin, Phyllis (1967) Tame Valley, Perry Barr Midland Counties Dairy Ltd. [Image] (Unpublished)
Hope you don't mind, I thought I'd adjust the brightness and contrast and increase the size to see what would happen. You can see the Zig Zag bridge! I must have passed this building thousands of times over the years. Have they built on the site yet?
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I was a milkman with Midland Counties Dairy around 1959/60. Based at Manchester Street Depot.
My round covered the area, Wheeler St, New John St, Russell St, Villa St, Little King St, Summer Lane, Farm Street & many others I can't recall off hand. Later I progressed to a much bigger and better round at Sparkbrook/ Sparkhill area.
My supervisor was a cracking bloke named Charlie Avery. My best pals were Jack Hickman & Barry Docker. Happy days.
Bryan.
 
This photograph, uncredited, is of Kingstanding. However it could easily represent any milk delivery people and their horses in much of the towns in the UK.
iu

That would be a Co-op dairyman, with the long brown overall. Midland Counties were short white coats.
Bryan.
 
My Grandad worked for Midland Dairies for many a year and threw the 50's, he had to retire due to ill health tho, he loved it, and used to help out his customers if they were stuck or needed anything. Think his round was Shard End way i'll have to check.
Didn't Midland buy up Wakeden daires about 1960? Cheers Tony
 
Hi all. When I worked there (early 1970s) they only made ice cream but it was talked about that milk was processed there in the past. Baggot Street rings a bell. The factory was I think located along the road that was (or became) aston expressway. There was a canal next to the factory. It was just outside Bham city centre on the Aston Uni side. Never been able to eat much ice cream after working there - indulged too much while I was there!!! I think the brand name was Lyons Maid. They also made a fancy range (sort of italian style) which was like little fruit bombes. Got through a lot of their real orange lollies during the very, very hot steamy summer I worked there. The best product to work on during the summer months was on the strawberry mivvi line as the mivvis used to come along the line on frozen trays (so cold your fingers used to stick to the trays). Nice and cool..................Also remember they had a great staff canteen - proper meals for us starving students.............Viv
Yes. I remember. Worked there from 1973 until it closed in 1980. Send your right. The canteen was awesome. Great breakfast and always had the shepherds pie, peas, chips and gravy. That was a feast. Anyone remember Rose the lady that gave the clean overalls. Whites as they were known. Always in Wellington boots and always washing your hands when you came onto the production floor. I used to order the cartons, wrapping and lolly sticks etc for the production lines. The speciality ice cream that was on the 3rd floor was Baskin Robbins.
 
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I wonder if this was something new? Maybe wheels with pneumatic tyres (the Dunlop ad in the background) - generally most delivery carts had wooden wheels with steel tyres.
 
I wonder if this was something new? Maybe wheels with pneumatic tyres (the Dunlop ad in the background) - generally most delivery carts had wooden wheels with steel tyres.

good point alan...i wonder if the photo was actually taken outside dunlops

lyn
 
Edit, this post copied to this thread from the Bordesley Green Road thread as it shows a MCD cart (bottom left)

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Hi, I am wondering if anyone can place where this photo was taken please ie. the street? The photo dates to about 1970 and shows a Bedford TK with a trailer load of sterilised milk bottle empties departing from a Midland Counties / Unigate depot. I note the adjoining building is signed 'Kenrick and Jefferson' who were printers based in West Bromwich but they may, of course, had premises elsewhere in the West Midlands. I have had another person suggest that it could be I have a long-standing interest in the history of dairies and also collect old milk bottles should anyone have anything old and interesting they may wish to sell. Thank you for your attention. Mark Hudson
 

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I do not think it is in Birmingham as the lamp post seems wrong for the city. Not far away I guess as the TK has a Birmingham registration.
 
Hi, I am wondering if anyone can place where this photo was taken please ie. the street? The photo dates to about 1970 and shows a Bedford TK with a trailer load of sterilised milk bottle empties departing from a Midland Counties / Unigate depot. I note the adjoining building is signed 'Kenrick and Jefferson' who were printers based in West Bromwich but they may, of course, had premises elsewhere in the West Midlands. I have had another person suggest that it could be I have a long-standing interest in the history of dairies and also collect old milk bottles should anyone have anything old and interesting they may wish to sell. Thank you for your attention. Mark Hudson
The building next door Kendrick & Jefferson. They were a printing/stationery company based in West \Bromwich
 
That seems to have been resolved.

While searching for information about the query in the earlier post I came across an MC depot at Perry Pont, Perry Barr. This seems to be a similar depot to the West Bromwich one.

It opened in 1964. I don’t remember there being an MC depot in Perry Barr. Viv.

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I think the Perry Pont Depot must have been the one listed as 205 Aldridge Road. It would have been near the Zig Zag bridge and River Tame. There’s a trading estate there, which is where I think it would have been.

Also learnt there was a Depot on Kingstanding Road, a stones throw from where I lived - didn’t know that was there either in the 1960s. Must have walked past it thousands of times, almost every day !

Viv.
 
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Now that’s more familiar. Funny how you can pass it on the bus virtually every day and not really register what building it was. I also used the bus stop opposite quite often as my Nan lived just a little way along Aldridge Road. We drifted through the days with our eyes almost closed to buildings - unless it had a pub sign, a club sign or a clothes shop sign on it !

Viv.
 
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