Some Memories Of My Dad Who Worked For Boots The Chemist In Chipping Norton Circa 1950 1960

A Memory of Chipping Norton.

My dad worked for Boots the Chemist in Chipping Norton. He was not concerned just with providing medicines for the human population of the area. Being in an important agricultural area there were many farm animals which required care. A locum vet, asked by a farmer to attempt to improve the fertility of a herd of local cows, decided to inject them with a copper sulphate solution. This was made up by my dad, following the Boots manual. This had unexpected effects. The watching farmer and locum vet saw that by the time the tenth cow was injected the first dropped dead, to be followed by the others in sequence. Panic phone calls were made to my dad . Samples of the solution were taken by all interested parties, including Boots head office in Nottingham. Subsequent inquiry and settlement in Chambers cleared my dad of any blame. The mixture had been prepared with great accuracy; the proportions, however, stated in the manual, were out by a significant factor. The locum vet, facing the prospect of ruin, decided to pursue his career in South Africa. A large flock of hens met their fate for similar reasons.

The most serious misfortune, however, arose with the arrival of a new manager and a stock taking. My dad was instructed to dispose of unwanted items and, without giving the matter much thought, he just put some outdated chemicals in the dustbin. Unfortunately, one of the items was a bottle of phosphorous. Inevitably the bottle broke in the bin lorry and a conflagration ensued. The flaming vehicle was driven through the centre of Chipping Norton to the fire station. The firemen were astounded to find that having extinguished the flames and turning the hose off, fires broke out in the lorry again and again. My dad found considerable difficulty in maintaining a straight face as the dustmen recounted this tale.

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