I am researching the history of this well known mail-order company, following the publication of my book on the subject.
I am seeking help in two main areas currently. 1. I am seeking photographs of the houses that William Kay, the founder of the company lived in. I am looking, in particular, for pictures of The Elms, Battenhall, Worcester. This property was demolished in the late 1960s and would have stood where Goodwood Avenue is currently (part of the wall that surrounded the property still exists). Isaac Wolfson, the business man and chairman of GUS, lived there during WW2.
2. Information from ex-employees or customers (agents) about their own memories of what it was like to work for Kays or buy from them. Any documents, photographs etc can now be scanned into digital form.
I would also appreciate any and all information from members, particularly photographs, of Mr Kay and his family.
Although not my own family history but effectively the genealogy of a company, this is still historical research and any assistance from the users of this forum would be gratefully received.
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« Last Edit: Monday 12 June 06 20:41 UTC (UK) by Arranroots »
as kays employed local people, it may be worth your while appealing in a local worcestershire paper or evan contact kays catalogue themselves as they are still going strong, they may have archive info
Thank you for your contact but if you look at the signature of the original note I posted, you will see that I am chairman of the Kays Heritage Group and as such I have access to all of the archival material that was owned by the company as I now own it and all of the rights to it.
As I worked for Kays for almost 30 years, I am seeking to broaden my search for any information relating to the company and its heritage.
I also regularly feature in the local papers and local radio so I need to broaden my horizons in such a forum as this one on family history.
Kays is far from "still going strong", as it was announced at the beginning of May this year that the current owners were going to close the last vestiges of Kays in Worcester and transfer all of these jobs to the north-west. By the end of this year there will be no Kays employees left in Worcester. A sad end to over 200 years of association with the city.
remember me sending you that photo of the winning Kilburn K Cup team
I thought tou may like to know that My late Mum (Edna Dorothy Heeks) was one of the wages clerks for Issac Wolfson when she worked at Charles ltd Foregate street Worcester
Sorry I have no more info on the shop but feel sure you know a lot about it already