Dewhurst Butchers

A Memory of Nelson.

Dewhurst Butchers
By Donald Jay.

I started Butchering at the age of 12 in a local butcher on Colne road in Burnley called Harrison Brothers.
When I left school at 14 I went to work at J H Dewhursts in Scotland Road Nelson.
I left school on Friday and started work on Monday in Easter 1965 my wage was
£4-2/6 a week we worked every day with Tuesday afternoon off and Sunday off.
The policy of Dewhursts was the window had to look nice and full at all times and everything had to be spotlessly clean.
7.30 am the shop had to have a big clean and polish you stated by sweeping the flags at the front of the shop and washing the tiles down at the shop front then you cleaned so the inside if the window till it shone and then you cleaned all the silver bars that the meat hung from so you could see you face in the silver.
The other butchers would be filling the shop up with fresh meat and filling the shelves with tined stuff.
I then had to get my orders ready I had to take these every day 6 days a week on an old butcher’s bike with a basket on the front in the sun and rain snow and frost.
1. Barkerhouse Road Day Nursery
2. Andrew Smiths Old Peoples Home
3. Ecroyd Centre Colne
4. Marles Hill Wheatley lane Road
5. Any other orders
6. Go to Burnley Colne and Barnoldwick with stuff on my Butchers bike.
I had to serve on in the shop.
In between all this I had to cutup and bone out meat gutting chickens make dog food and beef burgers and cook meats cut bacon make dripping keep the shelves filled with what ever.
At 5pm it was the big cleanup put all the stuff away scrub all the blocks clean the mincer and bacon slicer was all the trays up and by 6-30pm it as time to go home.
And for fun on a Saturday I had to clean all the fridges and defrost them that was a big job and when the area manager called I had to clean his car too.
And when it was my half day off they had a trick of sending me to a shop for the afternoon that did not closed and you could not say no so I only got Sunday off if I was lucky sometimes they had use working on Sundays no pay just my£4-2/6 a week and a joint of meat at weekends
But even after one had severed his time then wage was poor even the managers wage was poor you could get much more working in other place’s and most people would leave for more money
But I loved it and left for more money.
Here are some of the people I can remember I worked with at
Dewhurst's

Harry Hunt.
Ernie Boardman.
Stephen Astin.
Donald Jay.
Roy Windle.
Les Nelson.
Tom Brennan.
Alf Gilberts.
Frank Wren.

I cannot remember the rest sorry.