Company cared for its employees
Diss, Norfolk. Gerald Potter with his memories of Taylor Electrical in Beccles
Following our story in the January 11 edition of the Diss Express about the pending closure of local electronics store Taylor Electrical, we asked if readers had any memories of the company.
Gerald Potter, 83, of Wortham Ling, brought one of the company’s pamphlets, dated 1946 and titled ‘Taylor’s Concern’, into our office.
Produced annually, these pamphlets detailed company profits and gems of wisdom on invoicing systems and other company procedures showing, for example, that in 1945 branch managers received a wage of £4 per week and the turnover at the Diss shop for the 12 months ending December 1945 was £6,064.
Company proprietor Mr H Taylor also wrote the following: “I believe that earning a living should be a pleasant, interesting and adventurous process, and this business is directed with that end in view.”
Mr Potter’s copy of ‘Taylor’s Concern’ also gives details of a dinner, in Beccles Public Hall on May 1, 1946, arranged by the company to welcome back its employees who had been away fighting in the war. 125 people attended.
Mr Potter said: “The company was very good to me. I left school when I was 14 and started working at Taylors in 1944/45.
“They gave me an apprenticeship as an electrian and I went on day release at college in Norwich.
“But as soon as I finished, I had to do military service. When I finished service, the electricians’ department at Diss had been done away with and was based at Beccles, so I had to take other employment and I never went back to work for Taylors again.”
Mr Potter was trained by the RAF as an auto electrician and got a job with a Ford dealership in Diss, later joining Eastern Electricity.
If anyone else has memories to share of Taylor Electrical’s long connections with Diss, dating back to 1922, let us know by emailing editorial@dissexpress.co.uk
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Weather for Diss
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Light showers
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