Coventry Bakers and Bakeries

I can confirm re eating pork pie for breakfast on Christmas morning as my in-laws in Wyken did this.

Does anyone remember the small branch of Wimbush, bread and cakes shop, just inside Crescent Avenue, Stoke on the left hand side? One of their specialities were individual madeira cakes with a wrapper with blue printing on it with the name 'Wimbush'.

Savages bread was still being delivered to homes by horse and van in Stoke up to around 1950.

Hi Prof, and we did, every Christmas, made by a country butcher, my mum wouldn't eat any other. I think we are leaving the good times behind! I remember Savage's bread being delivered to mum's shop, Ooo the smell was to die for, and the top off the cottage loaf was all mine. Wasn't even wrapped either.

My dad, Arthur Osborne worked for Savage's after he came back from the Army in 1946. He worked at Argyll Street until Mr Savage sold out in the early 60's. He then moved up to Rowley Road when the new bakery was built, Mother's Pride. I worked at Savage's as a Saturday lad on the rounds. I remember I worked with Alec Guy on the Radford round for a couple of years. The old stables in St Agatha's Road became the garage where they repaired the vans. The buildings are still in use today as are the old bakery buildings. I carried on working as a Saturday lad for a short time at the new bakery. It was a great job. My dad was the despatch supervisor for years and worked with people like George Pithers, Dick Hurst, Harold Woodfield, Frank Smith, Ted Eaton.

When I worked at the Co-op offices I had to count and reconcile all the tokens every week, it was such fun!!! (that's what's called irony!)

This is one of the early Morris vans that gradually replaced the horse drawn carts. My dad Arthur Osborne is pictured. I think it was 1940 just before he joined the Army. He returned to Savages after the war.

On the Stoney Stanton Road thread, Johnno mentioned Gee's Bakery - I told my mother and that brought forth a few memories. Before the war, going with her mother to visit her gran in Swan Street, she used to pass a Gee's Bakery near Cook Street Gate and remembers being able to see the fire in the oven. There was another Gee's further up Stoney Stanton Road past the Swanswell, possible a post-blitz location. Even further along SS Road, in a row of shops opposite Station Street East that contained Cluley's Greengrocer & Fishmongers and the Royal Oak pub, was another Gee's shop. An actual Gee's bakery existed in Crabmill Lane and mum's wartime memory is buying a slice of warm ginger cake there for 1d. Also in Station Street East were Storer's and another baker called Varnum and Edwards (I'm not sure of the spelling).

Re Gees bakery, well at the time I lived in Canley & had to travel to John Gulson school in Leics Causeway. Mum gave me the bus fares from Canley to town, then town up to Eagle St - thinks, if I walked from town I could save busfare & spend it on those delicious cakes at LR Gee!!

Does anyone remember the bakers and workman's cafe in Queen Victoria Road run by Dickie Meadows in the 1940's. As I remember it was almost opposite the entrance to the Barracks Market.

Hello Judy, I remember your dad Aubrey Sutton very well, if I remember right he used the City Arms in Earlsdon & used to see him walking back home to Warwick Ave. I was also an apprentice at Suttons, & remember a few people who used to work there, one was a cheeky supervisor named Johnny Andrews, also Jack Wood, the production manager on the bread section.

Hello & welcome Claymaker, We hope that you enjoy your time with us on our forum.

I knew Jack Wood. Only a small guy so we called him Littlewood. Norman.