It wasn’t so much a job…more a way of life where work and pleasure mixed.

A time when many people spent their entire working life at the same company.

The bond of friendship between those who were colleagues was strong and social clubs thrived.

Outings and events were popular the friendships forged in the factories, offices and shops would often last a lifetime and be passed down from one generation to the next.

Oh, and did you know some gentlemen at Colman’s had hairy chests and a handful at Woolworths in Norwich city centre were a dab-hand at ballet dancing?

Norwich Evening News: This is the display which caught the eye of those at the Woollies Christmas party all those years ago – a memorable display of “ballet” by the store’s floor-walkers.This is the display which caught the eye of those at the Woollies Christmas party all those years ago – a memorable display of “ballet” by the store’s floor-walkers. (Image: June Vail)

Norwich Evening News: Those floor-walkers were a hit with the Woolworths girls at the Christmas party in the 1950s. These pictures were sent in many years ago by June Vail who was June Goldsmith in those days and worked in the big Rampant Horse Street store in Norwich…now just a memory.Those floor-walkers were a hit with the Woolworths girls at the Christmas party in the 1950s. These pictures were sent in many years ago by June Vail who was June Goldsmith in those days and worked in the big Rampant Horse Street store in Norwich…now just a memory. (Image: June Vail)

They certainly knew how to enjoy themselves in a different world to the one we live in today.

Think of buying a pair of shoes, There was a time when so many of them in our shops would have been made in Norwich.

This was an industry which was the heart and “sole” of the city. More than 10,000 people, around 15 per cent of the workforce, worked in the boot and shoe trade, in huge factories,

Norwich Evening News: Give us a wave!! The workers at the Florida Shoe Factory outing to Cromer in 1986. Whatever happened to young Bradley Walsh who was making a name for himself? Happy days.Give us a wave!! The workers at the Florida Shoe Factory outing to Cromer in 1986. Whatever happened to young Bradley Walsh who was making a name for himself? Happy days. (Image: Norwich Heritage Projects.)

In 1972 they produced almost 10.8 million pairs of shoes and fashion boots which we described at the time as an “all-time record.”

In the city there were the engineering works such as Boulton & Paul, Barnards, and Mann Egerton where skilled employees made a huge range of goods over the decades – even aircraft in the early days – and the breweries of course.

And of course there was the world-famous Colman’s Carrow Works – a village - which treated its staff so well, at work and at home.

Not forgetting Caleys, which became Mackintosh’s, Rowntree Mackintosh and Nestle before closing in 1994.

Norwich Evening News: A tasty display of Mackintosh treats made in Norwich and presented by Heather Dagless.A tasty display of Mackintosh treats made in Norwich and presented by Heather Dagless. (Image: Archant Library)


Norwich Evening News: Where better to have a reunion for the Nestle workers than the popular Caley’café.Where better to have a reunion for the Nestle workers than the popular Caley’café. (Image: Archant Library)

Remember when the sweet smell of chocolate rose above the city?

Norwich Evening News: A company which had a reputation for looking after its workers. These are the ladies at the Harmer clothing factory in Norwich of 1948.A company which had a reputation for looking after its workers. These are the ladies at the Harmer clothing factory in Norwich of 1948. (Image: Archant Library)

One firm which often gets overlooked was Harmers, one of the largest privately owned clothing manufacturers in the country with factories at Norwich, Diss, Fakenham, Stradbroke, Syleham and Watton. It opened in 1825 and closed in 1990.

Times change….