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Cadbury's Bournville Factory

Re: Cadbury's Bournville

For all you wonderful "Chocoholics" out there, here's a bit of news that may or may not have caught your attention recently. Cadbury Australia/New Zealand decided to "improve" its Dairy Milk Chocolate by removing the "Cocoa Butter" and replacing it with "Palm Oil". This was not a clever move and almost caused WWIII. The reaction from the "Chocoholics" down here was such that Cadbury was forced to publicly admit "They Got It Wrong" and on 17th August (09) they publicly stated such and announced that "Cocoa Butter" was back. If you "Google" - Cadbury Palm Oil - you will be able to read about it for yourselves.
OldBrummie.
 
Re: Cadbury's Bournville

my nan worked at cadburys during the war, she has great memories of it! It'll be a real shame if it changes hand once again, but as long as the don't put palm oil in our choc, or there will be ww3!!
 
Re: Cadbury's Bournville

Anne Jessel said:
What was Cadbury's factory like to work in? What about all those freeby chocolates?
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I worked at Cadbury's back in the 70's, and soon got sick of the sight of chocolate, as back then, we could still help ourselves to the mis-shapes, and rejects.
I'm in my 50's now and still not a great chocolate fan, especially of Cadbury's chocolate. I have to really fancy it to eat it.
I believe these days it's a sackable offence to be caught eating the chocolate whilst you're working.
 
Re: Cadbury's Bournville

Given that Cadbury's have been trying to shut down it's UK factories (ie the factory Cadbury took over from Fry's in Keynsham) and move their production of some of the products made in Keynsham to Poland and then, after making 500 people working at the Keynsham site redundant and sell off the land for housing (don't think they wouldn't stop at shutting down Bournville too if they could make money on it)

BUT

Kraft have said that if they take over they will stop the move of production to Poland and keep the Keynsham factory going, there are a lot of people that are rather kean on the Kraft idea!!

Personally I would prefer the Crunchie I eat to be made in the UK under the Cadbury's trade name even if the management was Kraft than to think it had been made overseas.

Helen
PS I will also miss the smell of chocolate wafting over Keynsham if they shut the factory down!
 
Re: Cadbury's Bournville

Helen G said:
Given that Cadbury's have been trying to shut down it's UK factories (ie the factory Cadbury took over from Fry's in Keynsham) and move their production of some of the products made in Keynsham to Poland and then, after making 500 people working at the Keynsham site redundant and sell off the land for housing (don't think they wouldn't stop at shutting down Bournville too if they could make money on it)

BUT

Kraft have said that if they take over they will stop the move of production to Poland and keep the Keynsham factory going, there are a lot of people that are rather kean on the Kraft idea!!

Personally I would prefer the Crunchie I eat to be made in the UK under the Cadbury's trade name even if the management was Kraft than to think it had been made overseas.

Helen
PS I will also miss the smell of chocolate wafting over Keynsham if they shut the factory down!
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Better still if the Crunchie was still under the Fry's name as it originally was. Are my favourite Fry's Chocolate Cream bars still made at Somerdale at the moment do you know? I have been hooked on them for 65 years now, since I was given my first little 2d bar in my pram (according to family legend). Can't believe what they cost now!
Mike
 
Re: Cadbury's Bournville

mikejee said:
Here are soem pictures of Bournville during the war. The camoufalged blocks and one of their first jobs was assembly of 5,117,039 service respirators and 6,335,454 cannisters (which were never used as gas wasn't deployed. Another task of the factory was covering aircraft fuel tanks (over 10,000 in 12 months) to prevent leakage when damaged, and filling rockets with cordite.I particularly like that the rocket fillers are still wearing their chocolate-packing clothes.
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My Brother and I think that the gentleman on the right, filling rockets, may be our grandfather, Jack Potter, who worked for Cadburys from before WW1 until his retirement to one of the bungalows in Selly Oak Road.

The company included his years in the army during the First World War when calculating his pension.
 
Re: Cadbury's Bournville

motorman-mike said:
Better still if the Crunchie was still under the Fry's name as it originally was. Are my favourite Fry's Chocolate Cream bars still made at Somerdale at the moment do you know? I have been hooked on them for 65 years now, since I was given my first little 2d bar in my pram (according to family legend). Can't believe what they cost now!
Mike
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I think it's really sad that Cadbury's will become A Kraft product.
There is a way to stop this rotting of our industry.
It's not inevitable.
You have to resist.
Refuse to buy or eat a Cadbury product if it's sold to Kraft.
Kraft won't like that.
Where do you want to start.
Austin. MG. Rover. Land Rover. Triumph. BSA. HP Sauce. British Midland. Midland Red. Pebble Mill. You must know so many more.
It dosen't matter What Brown or Cameron says, they really don't know or even care.
You can win.
Say No.
In the 80's Japan wouldn't buy any French automobiles. So France just let Sony TV's and Nikon cameras and anything else Japanese pile up on the docks.
Guess what? France still has a car industry. Renault, Citroen and Peugeot.
What is the MP for Bourneville actually doing? for the people that work at Cadbury's? i.e. before its irreversible.
This is not a market correction.
This is about a healthy British company producing a great number of terrific products and employing a hard working labour force being taken over by a company that doesn't care if a creme caramel is ultimately made in Bourneville or Bolivia.

Don't give in.

Ask your friends and neighbours to commit to a belief that Birmingham, has a backbone, has a belief in itself.
If our city is put at a lost, we should and will fight back.
This is a time for us Brummies to voice our opinions.
If we lose, don't let it be through indifference.

ladywood
 
Re: Cadbury's Bournville

What Apprentice Brummie says is right. We have to stand up to these Multi-National Corporations who really care for nothing but the almighty dollar (pound). Here in Aus, exactly the same story. Our "Icons" are being swallowed up at a rate of knotts and there is very little left that we can call our own. Products and profits are disapearing to all manner of different countries where they pay a pittance in wages but make huge profits from us - the consumers.
OldBrummie.
 
Re: Cadbury's Bournville

Greetings To You All.
I am spending much time on the internet seaching out my family history, specifically on my Mother's side - the name being Chinery. A (handwritten) document has come into my possession that was written in August 1984 and it lists a number of Chinerys (who worked at Cadbury Bournville Works) who featured in the Cadbury Bournville Works Magazines during the period 1903 to 1934.
I need to ask if anyone amongst you is in possession of any or all of these magazines which range from Vol I through to Vol XXXII. If you are, or if you know someone who has them, I would be most grateful if you could P M me
My searching is not proceding as well as I would like and I feel that the information contained in the articles might assist me.
I look forward (hopefully) to hear from you.
Regards, Peter Platt. (OldBrummie)
p.s. My Grandfather was one who featured therein.
p.p.s. I do not know the name of the person who wrote the document but I believe she was related somehow.
 
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Re: Cadbury's Bournville

Oldbrummie its not a good idea to put your email address on here its open to abuse by anybody who looks on here,ask to have it removed

Mossy
 
Re: Cadbury's Bournville

Lerrylyngal - I also worked at Cadbury's in the late 60's and early 70's.
I worked in Sales Marketing and we would be given boxes of new lines to try. Like you I eat very little chocolate but I must admit Cadbury's is still the best chocolate.:) Mo
 
sylviasayers said:
George, I'm with Williams on this one, Sunday's nowadays are just as bad for traffic as any other day, and I'm definitely against Sunday trading. I can remember when I was young it was frowned upon to hang your washing out on Sundays, I wouldn't go that far, but I think we all need a day when things are taken at a gentler pace.
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I thoroughly agree! I'd happily return to traditional Sundays. Mind you, there is one advantage that I've noticed, we have far less rubbish/litter in the countryside now that there are so fewer Sunday visitors....everyone's away to the shops!
 
Re: Cadbury's Bourneville

The takeover panel has now made its decision (View attachment 50668) and Kraft are not appealing:

Marc Firestone, Executive Vice President, Corporate & Legal Affairs and General Counsel commented:

“The Panel has confirmed that we acted in good faith and has accepted that we had a sound commercial rationale for making our statements about Somerdale. We regret that, once we had full information, it was not feasible to keep Somerdale open, as we'd originally believed possible. Even though we never made a promise or a commitment to keep the facility open, we recognize that our “statement of belief” created uncertainty among Somerdale employees.

We have decided to accept publication of the Panel's decision rather than proceed to an administrative appeal. We believe it's best for everyone to put this matter behind us so we can focus our energy on doing what's most important now: Growing our combined business in the UK and working with others to redevelop the Somerdale site in a way that helps Keynsham continue to thrive.”

Unfortunately you can be as devious(or incompetant ) as you like in business if you are a big company .
Mike
 
Mmmmmmmmmmm!

Thanks to all for the DELICIOUS information, reminiscences and pictures on this thread :).

When I was growing up in (and around) Birmingham in the 1950s, two "aunties" (possibly my mothers cousins, or just friends of the family) used to visit, always bringing bags of Cadbury's "mis-shape" biscuits. As you can imagine, they were VERY popular with my sisters and me.

G'day to fellow "Tasmaniac" Kate (post #38). Here in northern Tasmania we often see Cadbury's milk tankers carting milk from the local dairy farms for the Hobart (Claremont) factory.

Below is a sample from Mikey Ashworth's fine collection of advertising ephemera, which includes many Cadbury-related images. I hope he doesn't mind my uploading this image as an advertisement for his collection. Follow the link, press the "slide show" button, sit back and ENJOY!

image.jpeg
Image replaced 39/3/16
Image may vary from original posted
 
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Re: Cadbury's Bourneville

My uncle worked at cadburys from when he was 14 until he died at 64.we used to love going to thier house as there was always a cupboard full of chocolate of all shapes and sizes.needless to say we were frequent visitors as we always came home with a bagfull.i was only about 10 yrs old then but i always vowed id get a job in cadburys but i never did. Lol.it was "the " place to work in those days ...
 
Re: Cadbury's Bourneville

The australian company was always very independent, and it was often difficult for the UK to find out what they were doing. They will dislike Kraft central control even less than us (and who can blame them)
Mike
 
Re: Cadbury's Bourneville

Interesting, Mike.

Aussies? Independent? I suppose so, by reputation. But we still love Queen Elizabeth II ("Queen of Australia"). And today just happens to be the "Queen's Birthday" public holiday in Australia. Actually it's not her birthday at all, as is explained here. ;)
 
Re: Cadbury's Bourneville

Here in Aus, the battle still rages - Monarchy or Republic - I don't care as long as they don't take away my long weekend. I will spend it crying in my cornflakes over our sad loss this morning to Germany and then it's back to the computer and "Find My Past" seeking out all my relies who worked at Cadbury during the 1890's and early 1900's, including my maternal Grandfather, some of his nephews and at least one neice.
OldBrummie.
 
Re: Cadbury's Bourneville

I like this article today re the fascinating Cadbury heiress and her plans to sell her 27 million pound estate and found a choclate making company to go up against Kraft. She can't use the name Cadbury since it is now in Kraft's domain. Good luck I say. a quote from the article" I can't believe that Cadbury's had gone to a plastic cheese company." https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/06/21/choc-tactics-115875-22348083/
 
Re: Cadbury's Bourneville

If she means it then good luck to her, but only if it is chocolate similar in flavour to Cadbury's, and not just some chocolate concocted of cocoa mass and milk poweder like Nestle , suchard (Kraft that is) eic. The latter sort is relatively easy to make, but the former much more complicated.
Mike
 
Re: Cadbury's Bourneville

She is George Cadbury's great granddaughter, and is deadly serious. She has been speaking to many chocolatiers about chocolate making, but I doubt if it will be the same as Cadbury's in taste. I have found over the years that Cadbury's has altered slightly in taste, I have wondered if it is because of the skimmed milk they use rather than full cream. The story was in the Sunday Times yesterday, I am sure you can read it online (or is that one of them who are charging to view?). I for one will try it, I agree with her views, Cadbury's should NEVER have been sold, but as most of the shares were in American hands, it was probably on the cards a long time ago.

Shortie
 
Re: Cadbury's Bourneville

CDM has changed over the years, not always for the better, but isn't too bad at the moment. Its nothing to do with skimmed milk though, but the process used to make the chocolate.
mike
 
Re: Cadbury's Bourneville

Hi Shortie:Yes,the Times is one of the newspapers that is now charging to read their paper on line. They tried it before a couple of years ago but it didn't work. The Times has been removed from the list I use to link to some of Britain's main dailies. So many British newspapers covered this story yesterday that you didn't need the Sunday Times to find out about this story. If you Google Felicity Loudon there is loads about her including this latest story about the choclolate,etc. She has also sold an amazing cottage on her Pusey House estate.
 
Re: Cadbury's Bourneville

Thanks Jennyann, I shall Google her as you suggest and find out more. Power to her elbow, I say! I shall Google her as you suggest and find out a bit more about her. Obviously, as I only take the Sunday Times, I would not know if other papers covered the story, and they are known for digging out stuff that other papers do not report on. I shall be interested in what transpires.

Shortie
 
Re: Cadbury's Bournville

Hi Shortie: Thanks for your reply. Time will tell....... If you want to read the Brit papers on line you can go to https://www.thepaperboy.com/uk/ These are the main British newspapers plus a lot of local ones. They do have a worldwide site as well.Trouble with alll the newspapers you can spend a lot of time reading them. I know I inherited newspaper reading from my Mother.When I still lived at home and came home very late or early depending .....let's say 1:00am for instance. I would put the key in the door so quietly and creep down the hall to the living room only to find my Mother reading the days papers from front to back and probably waiting up for me but never really saying that.:):) This being after the "What time do you call this?" stage.
 
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