Hi guys
I can recall wacadens dairy,s because when I was sixteen years old I got a job as a lorry drivers mate
And it was at a company called the Birmingham bottle exchanged which was situated at the bottom of st Michaels hill Hockley. Come handsworth boundaries I used that term
The company was owned by a solicter firm whom offices are or was based there as well
They had the contracts for all trades of dairies ,and brewers mineral trade supplies
Whom handle bottles
We weren't to all the waccies , the co/op ,midland counties ,hands worth dairies and other
Small time traders along with all the brewers from around the midlands
You name it any part of the country they was contracted to collect thousands of bottles from every trader
All there grates stacked to the heavens on a huge twenty ton lorries they had four great big
Long lorries and they went to every corner of the county each having thousands of bottles
And they was washed out and sorted into there own special crates for where they came from
Whether its a dairy or brewers ,
It was a big business they employed women to sort them out
Once the lorry drove into the yard depot we the driver and mate would unload these crates
Off the lorrys and stack them up along side of the track that was running from out side
Of the building and from out side and through inside there would be women looking and plucking
The odd bottles that was not of the said company coming through before going to the wash out
When they was cleanse and sorted and put into there correct crates for the dairy and like wise
Thousands of mix beer bottles had to be sorted out they was the most mixed up ones
Brewers from all the globe was found and grated
It was my uncle billy smart, and his brother Joe was the yard foreman and billy was the yard charge hand
They knew the owner very well for years apparently and it was those guys whom got me my first job
In the winter it was a terrible job high up on there lorrys especially when we had the frost and snow
On the road and the grounds it was then you felt it because the crates have stacked up in the depot
Of all traders yard and covered in ice those metal milk crates was the worst
As I said I have been to all waccys depot and brewers of Wolverhampton
By my worst hate was going to the co/op at Vauxhall it was horendus for crates to be picked up
It was hundreds of them waccys was not to bad nor the brewers
On the subject of waccys, which no/one mentioued was that there was one on pershore road up until
1961 and then they moved out shortly after that year the postion would have been the bottom end
Of the police training grounds and just short of what was a chiefs of police semi that was there one time
We had a huge lorry big and wide and there front gates on pershore road was slim we got in okay
But being a narrow road then it was arkward
The Tally ho was not built then nor was there social club, and every year the licences Christmas
Party was held there and they had collections buckets going around to collect for certain charities
And believe me they give very generous including the brewers MB. I know because years later
In my life I was part of the brewers team and my old Dutch ESS included
Sorry for waffling on but its to easy thast waccies depot was on the site before the old bill ,police
Best wishes Alan,, Astonian,,