THE APPRENTICE

by Alan D. Craxford

My father, George William Craxford, (1914 - 2001) was a self-made man; full of his place in the scheme of things, confirmed in his opinions, certain that his direction was the correct one. He was particularly able with figures and, given his background (not necessarily deprived for the era but certainly not over priviledged), he attained a level of achievement in his working lifetime through application and perseverence. For the majority of his years the tools of his trade were the manual typewriter, the pencil and paper and the nimble calculating abilities of his mind. Alien to him were the concepts of computers, electronic calculators, spreadsheets and word processors. It would have been fascinating to see how much further he would have progressed had he been born just one generation later. He did say on a number of occasions that he would have liked to be a stockbroker. He did take some pleasure in managing a small share portfolio.

Joseph Johnson about 1897 (1)

He left school (as so commonly happened in those days) in his early teens. Found amongst his effects was the original Indenture document which is reproduced here. He was taken on as an apprentice draper's clerk by a well established drapery business (Joseph Johnson and Company Limited) in Leicester just after his fourteenth birthday - the length of his service was to be three years. His induction was witnessed and countersigned by his father, James Ernest Craxford (whose photograph appears on the masthead of these pages)

To my eyes, George's signature on this document belies his youth. This appearence may be the result of a childhood accident which he often recounted. At the age of seven or eight (and on this day playing truant from school) his right forearm was trapped between two heavy gates near the railway. From his account there was no bones broken but there was gross swelling and his arm was massaged back into shape. The outcome was that the bellies of the muscles which flexed his fingers and enabled him to grip had been ruptured. When everything had healed there was a gap between the upper and lower parts of these muscles, which continued to cause him some discomfort and cramps throughout his life and which made writing a rather tiresome and jerky procedure.

Click to see the title page of George Craxford's Articles of Apprenticeship.

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His progress through his apprenticeship appears to have been satisfactory and no family gossip or memories survive to suggest that it was a particularly eventful time. The Indenture period was certified complete on January 1st 1932 - when he was aged 17. He continued to work for the firm and Joseph Johnson's was also to help shape George's future in other ways. The store had one of those systems where all cash and sales dockets went to a central department for change and sanctioning. After a few years he was promoted to the cashiers office and it was during this time that he met Hilda Mary Cook, one of the shop assistants. They were married in 1940.

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Almost immediately he was called up into the Army during World War II, serving with a gunnery battalion in North Africa and Italy. He was away for nearly five years. When peace returned he became a commerical traveller firstly for the typrewriter ribbon and carbon paper manufacturer - Caribonum - making his rounds of Leicester and the county on a bicyce. In the early sixties he was employed by the twin corporations W.R. Royle & Sons and Royle Publications (business stationers and greetings card manufacturers). His territory spread from the Humber to Northamptonshire. He was reluctant eventually to retire just before his seventieth birthday.

POSTSCRIPT

The department stores found in most cities and large towns in the early 1900s were family affairs (for owners, managers and staff) and Leicester was no exception. These Companies worked very hard to find, nurture and maintain their clientelle. Joseph Johnson and Company was such an organisation. In 1928 its registered address was at 28 Market Street, Leicester. I can clearly remember being taken shopping in that emporium in the middle 1950s. It was taken over by the Fenwick group in the early 1960s. A similar fate also befell other local firms that were familiar household names - Morgan Squire, taken over by Rackhams of Birmingham; and Lewis's (not part of the John Lewis Group), in Humberstone Gate - by the Clock Tower - demolished and replaced by a shopping centre.

"Founded in 1882 (2) , Fenwick is the premier independent UK department store group with a portfolio of ten stores. These range from full line department stores to more focused fashion accessory offers.

The business was started in Newcastle and that store has grown to become one of the largest in the UK. In 1891 Fenwick opened in New Bond Street, which today is one of London’s most fashionable outlets. Leicester opened in 1962 and in 1976 the group took the anchor store in the Brent Cross Shopping Centre. York, Windsor, Tunbridge Wells and Canterbury followed and in 2001 the group acquired Bentalls located in Kingston and Bracknell."

There is sadly now no trace of Joseph Johnson and Company. A recent internet search found references to three different establishments at the old company address of 28 Market Street, Leicester (3). One was (undated) FatFace(UK): The Active Wear and Outdoor Clothing Company; the other, Thornton's the chocolatiers. Fenwick Ltd are now registered at 36 Market Street.

REFERENCES

(1) "Joseph Johnson 1897" (c) Stephen Butt; http://www.leicesterchronicler.com/
(2) A History of Fenwick Ltd: http://www.fenwick.co.uk/history/
(3) Market Street, Leicester. Photograph taken in 1998

Added April 4th 2005

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