Landers

I was wondering if anybody had any idea when this photo was taken and who the driver was?

I am Percy Landers only grand -child.

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  • As mentioned in other posts, I was a garage worker for Landers roughly ’59 to ’63 when I left. The Transport Manager then was Mr Tom Smith (mentioned previously). The Garage Foreman during all my time at Landers was Albert Rossitter who wore a dark blue boiler suit with a red collar, collar of office so to speak! I recall the names of some of my fellow older workers if there is any interest. Happy days but there’s always a time to move on, and look back of course!

    By Steeve Cee. (23/12/2019)
  • Landers had smallish pale blue Thames vans back in the early sixties. They were sign written in white. They were sign written thus:- ‘Bakers Boy’ and ‘Craigs Pantry’. I remember working on them in Landers Garage. Does anyone else recall these smaller rather attractive little vehicles?

    By Steeve Cee (29/11/2018)
  • Pete. S., above, as mentioned previously, I worked with your Dad Clarence, a good man and true. You are right about the Landers paint shop etc, however the paint shop eventually moved up Woodhouse Rd a bit and relocated in Nursery St – ‘Do you remember that’?

    It was there when I left the company around Sept ’63. I knew many of the painters and sign writers at both locations – they were all totally professional and certainly a laugh a minute. (As were the garage mechanics and body shop lads!). Great days indeed!

     

    By Steeve. C. (02/11/2017)
  • As a vanboy at Landers Bakery in 1949, I accompanied Frank Townroe on the then Hucknall round …This was a time when Landers only had 8 rounds. Our day started by serving shops one on Wharmby street. Paper shop on Woodhouse Road, facing the road leading to the Sherwood Pit. The old Mansfield Hospital. Then Mrs Charleston’s shop on Berry Hill across from High Oakham School. Onto the only shop in Fishpool. Turn round and pass Larch Farm Garage . occasionally serving Newstead Abbey in the Summertime. Down the lane opposite the gates of Newstead Abbey to Kighill,to a bungalow that was turned into shop for the locals. I recall this lady always had a ” Procea Loaf “. This shop had a long drive that we had to walk up on each delivery and was built on a third of an acre.. Then back along Nottingham Road , turning into Papplewick Lane to another small shop in Papplewick, before heading toward the Hucknall Shops..Back in those days, the area was fields, fields, and more fields, with just a few houses dotted here and there…Lovely memories, and bread was only four pence halfpenny ( Old Money) a loaf, all non-wrapped for wrapping and slicing of bread had not started then…alan By Alan Curtis

    By Alan Curtis (10/12/2013)
  • I can remember the transport department being on Oxford Street, the garage was on the left hand corner with Woodhouse Road / Leemimg Lane and if my memory serves me right the paint shop was further down Oxford St., on the right just before you entered the bakery site. One of the memories I have of the garage is my Dad Clarence Stevens introducing me to Albert Scanlon the Man Utd Footballer, but what he was doing at Landers I dont know. I used to spend Saturday mornings in that garage with Dad as we lived at 179 Yorke Street.

    By pete stevens (20/12/2012)
  • Sorry Jenni, I’m afraid the person in the photograph is not Percy Lander. It is a person by the name of Jack Pearson. I cannot say if our Percy Lander is the same or not but I very much doubt if he is…. Alan Curtis

    By alan curtis (06/09/2012)
  • Hi, is this the Percy Lander who recieved a MVO from King George in 1935? I am doing some family history of my son in law and there seems to be lots of Percy Landers around.

    By jenni (05/09/2012)
  • The Mayor of Mansfield.

    Another story to come out of Landers Bakery was:- In 1963 I became very good friends of Mr J. W. Kaye and his father, Councillor W. Kaye. Mr Kaye junior opened a Self-service shop on the Ladybrook Estate in Mansfield. Landers became sole supplier for Bread and Cakes etc. And from this, a very strong friendship developed. I think it was 1964 that Mr. Kaye senior became Lord Mayor of Mansfield. During one of our many cups of tea in the store room, the Mayor said he would love to see the bakery. No problem said I, say the word I’ll arrange it and show you round. The date and time was arranged, and I made sure I was there ready. This was a meeting between the Mayor and I. How was I to know he would turn up in the Mayoral Car, and in his full regalia and chain of office. Edward Charles Morris the General Manager, did a double take. He spotted the Lord Mayor’s car. Panic must have taken over, “What on earth is the Mayor’s car doing here?” he cried. “Why was I not informed?” Once he knew who and why, the panic disappeared. It was made an official visit over tea and cakes in his office after I had taken them around the new oven and the bakery.

    By alcurtis (10/10/2011)
  • The brown khaki ” Smock ” worn by Mr Pearson in the photograph had removable buttons wih a clip-pin to fasten at the back of the button…two “Smocks ” were issued by Landers and had to be worn by all salesmen when working. It wasn’t untill the early 50’s that brown khaki boilersuits with red collers and red cuffs replaced the smocks… Sometime in the late 50’s , about 1957, it was considered that the vansales image would be improved if the boilersuits were white with the red collers and cuffs…And sobeit, the white overalls/boilersuit were to be the image of the salesforce. Alan Curtis

    By alan curtis (12/08/2011)
  • I bet Jack Pearson never in this wide world thought that his picture would be on view to millions of people.. In his time there were none of the gadgets we enjoy so much today…In Jack’s time, with the few rounds there were at Landers, the salesmen had to write their orders in chalk on a blackboard for the next day….From being a salesman, Jack became a Supervisor, in fact he was the only Supervisor…. One whom Percy became most reliant. and so did Miss Rawlinson, Kathleen and Thelma in their hour of need….Jack pearson was a vital cog in the success of the Bakery before and after the death of Percy Lander. I remember Jack coming to the bakery in his old Singer car, parking it in the garage when the vans had all been removed. And this was in the late 40’s… Jack would make sure all the vans were out on time, and if there happened to be any absentees, Jack would jump in the van with a vanboy who would show him the round, in order that the deliveries would be made…He was the perfect employee that any company would love to have on their books… He was a very quiet person, well educated, knew a lot about business and motors, never raised his voice to anyone,” loved his pipe,” and was a very good friend to all. It is over 50 years since I last saw Jack Pearson, and would like to say it was indeed a great pleasure having him as a friend, and a big Thank You Jack..Where ever you are.

    By alan curtis (23/07/2011)
  • Frozen diesel was still a problem even in the late 70’s and early 80’s in the winter of 79/80 Landers had a lot of wagons stopping because of this problem and despite adding the approved additives it still happened so Landers solution was to use the transport managers land rover with the wrecker following on with a spare wagon behind that in case it was a bonafide breakdown and the way they solved the problem was with a hose attached to the exhaust of the land rover to thaw the diesel in the wagons fuel system, it used to be funny to watch this little convoy all over the place trying to keep the wagons running, not funny for the company or the drivers stuck in the freezing cold though

    By jim cairns (04/05/2011)
  • I remember being on a delivery round in Nottingham when it was very very cold. I was driving one of the Ford Diesel Vans. The Diesel vans were in their infantsy and I believe were made by Baker Perkins. Guess it must have been in the late 50’s… In the cold , and Icy packed roads, The engine stopped, I tried everything I knew to get it going to no avail..I eventually found a phone to call the garage, and explained my plight. The reply came back, Alan, you are the 18th van to phone in, try and pour some very hot water along the diesel pipeline, the diesel has frozen,and when you get it going, go to a garage and put a gallon of petrol into the tank with the diesel…It worked. The diesel had solidified and could not be pumped through to the engine. After that when filling up with diesel,we had to put one gallon of petrol with it during the very cold weather. It stopped the diesel from freezing. A.C.

    By alan curtis (03/05/2011)
  • I cannot remember the transport department on Oxford Street but I can remember it on Nursery Street with all the Landers wagons on there way back to the bakery queuing to refuel and the line of wagons all the way up Nursery Street which was all well and good till the Mr Pickwick vans arrived as well which I seem to remember were all old Morris’s and refueled on the other side so they queued towards woodhouse road and as the saying goes havoc ensued with the drivers falling out about whose turn it was to refuel as for van lads learning to drive Alan it was widespread and considered to be beneficial for the company till one of the lads at mp trafford had a serious accident and the over 21 rule was implemented

    By jim cairns (13/04/2011)
  • One of the really good things about being a Van Boy at Landers was, ” You learned to drive.” He would do a good job, then have a daily driving lesson, even if it was only driving the van back to the bakery. But you were taught by the best, and all this was free…. I cannot remember any Van Boy not passing his test first time. Ken Fearn taught me, and he didn’t have to pass a driving test,I believe he got his driving licence pre-1935 when you didn’t have to pass a driving test to have a driving licence.

    By alan curtis (12/04/2011)
  • I knew Landers before I joined in 1949… Between The Black Bull and the bottom of Oxford St…. Percy had a large garage. a petrol pump with the hose coming out of a small opening at the top of a large window allowed the vans to fill up with fuel on Woodhouse Road…Inside the garage were two large pits, where the servicing and maintenance of the vans took place…In the beginning, all the vans had to be sqeezed into the garage to be parked overnight. Jack Pearson put his car in the garage during the day. In 1947, Jack was the only salesman to have a car… As the business grew the garage wasn’t big enough to house the vans, although some stayed in the garage others,had to be parked in the yard at the top of the street behind locked gates.

    By alancurtis (05/04/2011)
  • alan you are right in your assumption that confec despatch had moved to the van shed when I worked at landers and directly outside the double doors to confec despatch were parked the orange and brown shops wagons 4 or 5 of them I think and the shops also used despatch trunkers for there deliveries as well,as for wooden trays all those had gone and it was all wire trays which for me as an occasional driver [and a shortage of gloves]with soft hands caused some uncomfortable moments and at times like easter It looked as if I was developing stigmata

    By jim cairns (29/03/2011)
  • Jim, just to add further to your question about the two Landers shops being 1 and 3… Most bakeries used wooden trays to carry their bread and cakes, mainly because of the bread being plain and unwrapped, also for ease of transporting to the shops. Percy always insisted that he had the best.Each round had it’s own trays with the name of Landers burned on the side, and the round number burned twice on each end of the tray. And for extra strength, and ease of sliding on the racks of the vans, strips of iron runners, about 1/2 ” by 1.8″ were screwed around both edges of the tray bending round the ends and over the tops of the tray for approximately 6″. There were no metal trays used at that time. I wouldn’t think the confectionary dispatch was were it is in the above picture in your time there. I believe it was moved to just inside the new very large parking garage for the vans, just to the right of the silos. However, the above confectionery dispatch room, (where Percy’s daughter Thelma spent a lot of time), was fitted out with numbered racks so each tray was placed in the rack of that round, for that round, with that round number, say 7. Therefore, Leaming St. Shop would have been packed on round 1’s trays , and likewise, Kirkby shop round 3. Surely there are some other ex-Landers people out there? A.C.

    By alan curtis (18/03/2011)
  • Hello Carole, First can I make a slight correction to my comment about Mr Jack H. Pearson. The photograph is definitely Jack, (he always smoked a pipe, and one can see in the photograph that Jack is holding it in his hand). The correction is, it was 67 Berry Hill Road where Jack lived, not Berry Hill Lane. I went there with Jack a few times. I do not think that Jack and his wife had any children, and I believe they moved back to Kirklington or Southwell after I moved to Cheshire. I do believe that Mr. J. H. Pearson was like your Grandfather’s right hand.

    By alan curtis (17/03/2011)
  • Hello Jim, Puzzle no more, this ” OLD MAN ” in his 70’s or older, can come to your rescue !! … Before Landers really took off, as you rightly say, Mansfield shop was 1, Kirkby shop was 3…. This came about in the early days, Leaming St. shop was served by Round 1. The Mansfield round… Kirkby shop was served by Round 3. The Kirkby round..My very good friend Frank Bagley, who is no longer with us, ( he died when only aged 28 ), used to deliver Kirkby shop’s order.. He was on round 3…A lady with red hair was the Manageress of the shop…Frank served in Korea in 1951 At that time,there was no shop 2 It seamed that after after the purchase of Whiley’s Bakery In Woodhouse, ( Geoff Whilley came to work at Landers as a Salesman )… (I believe Geoff died last year. ) …Landers forged ahead with the opening of further shops…This may have been to counter any loss of trade to Supermarkets. The cakes from Landers were second to none. The opening of Church street shop and Queen street shop were soon to follow..We also supplied many smaller bakers with bread in there own wrappers. Probably the 60’s were the greatest period of growth for Landers and British Bakeries…Who were of course R.H.M. Rank Hovis McDougal. A.C.

    By alan curtis (16/03/2011)
  • Alan one thing that has always puzzled me is Leeming St shop was 1(or was till computers became involved then 801) and Kirby was 3 but no one knew what or were shop 2 had been, any ideas ?

    Carole, Kirby shop which opened in 1929 I was told was managed by a relative of yours and when she retired it was managed by her daughter Minnie Frydrych so from opening in 1929 to closing in 1981 it was only managed by the same family, as we were clearing it out in 1981 we wanted a lorry and the one sent was one of the bakery trunkers and as I stood on the pavement probably insulting the driver (nothing nasty just taking the pee), two old men in there 70’s or older wandered past and one said to the other looking at this 15 tonne ? wagon I never new Percy had anything that big so as Alan has stated about your grandfather being a nice man if the old people in Kirkby remembered him he surely must have been

    By jim cairns (15/03/2011)
  • Carole you forgot your grandfather had shops as well as wholesale. Well in 1963/4(?)I think W.J Brookes went on a shops expansion kick, or it could just have been Landers Bakery, judging by the appearance of the shops in the 70’s Landers bought Joicies Bakery Derby Ltd at that time and gained a shop on East Street and Sadlergate in Derby, one in Belper and a stall on Victoria Market.They also opened shops in Grantham, Alfreton, Arnold Victoria Centre Broadmarsh Centre, Long Eaton, Ilkeston, Hucknall, Sutton, Heanor, Attercliffe sidewalk (just catering in Sheffield) Doncaster and a short lived pair one in Worksop and one in Stocks Bridge, Queen Street in Mansfield and Church Street in Mansfield and not forgetting Gainsboro which I left till last because it was in a curved shopping parade right in the middle(made for a strange shaped shop), and even now despite it closed in 1981 the corner is still know as Landers Corner

    By jim cairns (15/03/2011)
  • Many thanks for your information about this photo Alan – it means so much more now! Are you in touch with Jack Pearsons relatives at all? I don’t think it is Thelma in the window but it would be lovely if it was! I had forgotten about their shops! What a wonderful memory you have.

    By Carole Clark (14/03/2011)
  • Upon second thoughts, I recall, this van may have been used for Landers’ own shop deliveries at Leeming Street, and Kirkby Shops. The shop van was smaller and older than the normal delivery vans. Having said that some of the orginal vans were pretty old.

    By alan curtis (25/02/2011)
  • You are taking me back over 60 plus years. A real trip down memory lane. The picture is taken outside the old Landers Confectionery Packing room, where the van salesmen collected their daily confectionery orders. ( As previously mentioned in my earlier comments.) One can see the two open windows where the confectionery orders were passed through. Many is the time that Thelma would check out your order through these windows. Also, one can see the rack full of wooden trays in the production department…It is my guess the picture was taken around 1940/5. The van was not there in 1949. The salesman I feel is one Jack Pearson, whom I knew for quite a few years. He worked for Percy Lander for many years, and when Percy died, Jack ran the sales side of the business. When the people from Park House. Manchester took over, poor Jack was kept on, but pushed to one side. Albeit a little younger. The man in the picture is Jack Pearson, I think he lived on Berry Hill Lane.Mansfield.

    By alan curtis (22/02/2011)

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