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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Leicestershire => England => Leicestershire Lookup Requests => Topic started by: perry86 on Wednesday 08 December 10 21:36 GMT (UK)

Title: Melia's grocers
Post by: perry86 on Wednesday 08 December 10 21:36 GMT (UK)
I'm looking for any information on Melia's grocery chain which was around 1920s-1970s. It was a popular store and from what I gather had branches in most towns and cities during this time.

My grandparents worked in the Melton Mowbray store from 1931-1951 and this is how they met. My grandmother was manageress during the Second World War.

Memories, sources etc are very welcome! To aid the process I set up the Wiki page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melia%27s_Grocers_and_Tea_Dealers

So please don't use this as your first source :p

Thanks!
Title: Re: Melia's grocers
Post by: walkingbill on Sunday 13 September 15 20:24 BST (UK)
Hi Perry,  I used to work for the Melia's store in Shrewsbury as an Errandboy 1956-57.  Used to pedal around on a bike with a small front wheel so that a very large box could be fitted above it - this contained up to 4 or 5 grocery orders which I delivered within a 3 mile radius of Shrewsbury town centre.  I worked 4 evenings a week after school and Saturday morning for the princely sum of 16shillings per week but regularly made 2quid a week extra in tips.  I remember the big slabs of butter - must have been about 25 pound in weight (10kg).  It was then cut up into required size using a cheesewire and patted into shape using wooden paddles.