Do Fletchers still make bread ?

[Texas]

Here's the Jazzfool movin' in. This thread reminds me of the 'Fats' Waller iterjection 'What kind of bread is this, it must be good bread?'

[bazjea]

I'll have to ask my old man but I assume the location is the same,he certainly knew the owners so I'll ask him about the communist rumour too!

 

George Fletcher was the orignal owner of Fletchers He certainly was a member of the Communist Party in the 1920s.

I remember my father telling me. At that time in the 20s. Fletchers were streets ahead of other companies in working conditions and wages.

How true that is I do not know.

[soft ayperth]

George Fletcher was the orignal owner of Fletchers He certainly was a member of the Communist Party in the 1920s.

I remember my father telling me. At that time in the 20s. Fletchers were streets ahead ahead of of other companies in working conditions and wages.

How true that is I do not know.

 

Isn't that interesting? My mother was born in 1923, so she would have known. Given that the communist regime in Russia hadn't been in power that long, Fletcher's membership in it would have been the subject of public gossip. Like I said in an earlier email, her principled stand on not buying their bread defied logic even in the 50s when I was growing up. Thanks for this piece of info, bazjea.

[peterw]

Isn't that interesting? My mother was born in 1923, so she would have known. Given that the communist regime in Russia hadn't been in power that long, Fletcher's membership in it would have been the subject of public gossip. Like I said in an earlier email, her principled stand on not buying their bread defied logic even in the 50s when I was growing up. Thanks for this piece of info, bazjea.

 

During that same 1920s period my father was also a staunch member of the Communist Party and, like most of the local branch members, knew Fletcher quite well. In fact, most Sheffielders knew him well because keeping steadfastly to his beliefs saw his arrest and several periods of imprisonment.

 

Fletcher’s bakery during that same period was held to high esteem by most Sheffielders as a model establishment for workers. They were treated fairly, and the Company was certainly never included among the worst employers in the city.

 

Sheffield has its ‘bread and fat’ shops, mostly within its ‘society’ of Little Mesters, but despite the fact that it produced Bread it was just about the only firm that treated its workers well, and with the respect they deserved.

 

The city today still has a well-known, much revered Company that treats its employees in much the same way as Fletchers. Because I have lived away from Sheffield since 1951 I have no idea whether this fact is open knowledge among the city’s work-force, but I do know — and maybe they don’t — that this highly esteemed company was also founded by a Communist.

 

In my younger days I had the pleasure of meeting this company’s founder, along with a small group of prominent name who had formed their own rambling club and spent their Sundays walking over the hills and dales of Derbyshire.

[poppins]

Well I never knew that about Fletchers I know in the 40s up Sheffield was known as "The Red City".

[soft ayperth]

Fascinating, PeterW. And don't misunderstand me, the only reason I brought it up was to try and understand my mother's bias against the company. She had her principles, but they were not mine. I'm no political historian, but I suspect that in the early days of the communist party, many individuals supported it for the best of egalitarian reasons. The fact that the workers received fair treatment bears this out. But, it's a piece of local history that shouldn't be overlooked. Cheers.

[Morty]

When I left King Ecgberts School around 1963 we girls were found jobs by our headmistress, Miss Coates. My first job was as an office junior at Styans Bakery, I think it was somewhere in the Abbeydale area. After I left there the bakey was taken over, and moved, by Fletchers. I remember the wonderful goodies we were able to sample when the bakers boys brought us trays of freshly baked cakes etc.

[the peggsta]

I worked at fletchers for 12 years,when i started paul fletcher owned it and it was a good place to work but since he sold it,it changed hands a few times and seems to have gone down hill big time,as in too many chiefs and not enough indians.When i left in december we was still making bread but not with the fletchers name on it,we made it for tesco,sainsbury and a few others but the packaging was sainsburys,tesco etc so if youve tried not to buy fletchers bread you still unwittingly will have.

[Bayern Blade]

I spoke to my dad again and he tells me that Paul Fletcher was not a communist but that his father and grandfather were.

[soft ayperth]

Changing the topic ever so slightly, but still about bread and bakeries, what happened to Gunstone's bakery? They were a Sheffield firm at the bottom of Duke St and as I recall, one of Fletcher's main competitors? The workers put on Christmas pantomimes for the kids. I remember going to one and it was a lot like the old radio show "Workers' Playtime," with slapstick humor and in jokes about the foremen and bosses. A good time had by all.