Fleurpepper
Cabbie21, as a Leicester resident for so long, I didn't know that. This is what I read today, from Leicester History site.
''With Wilko in the news at the moment, did you know the popular national retailer started out here in Leicester?
The first Wilkinson store was opened in 1930 at 151 Charnwood Street by James Kemsey Wilkinson and his fiancée Mary Cooper. It was one of around 100 small businesses along the length of Charnwood Street. "Charny", as locals sometimes called it, ran parallel with Humberstone Road on the eastern side of the city.
The Wilkinson business grew rapidly with a second store opening in Wigston Magna in 1932, and 11 stores by the 1930s. Wilkinson’s business was based on selling useful things for the home at a good price. As one advert in 1938 put it “your money
buys better value.”
In the 1960s the family business opened stores outside Leicester, and in 1973 they launched their first own-brand product, paint, sold under the label "Wilko". Today Wilkinson's has over 400 stores in the UK and in 2022 was still a family-owned business.''
I saw that too.👍 I used to go to Charnwood Health Centre and knew the area well. Across the Humberstone Road were all the streets named after trees, Oak St, Ash St, Elm St etc. They were all being demolished in the 70s and I knew a guy who had an ex GPO van and he used to nip in the back doors as people left out of the front as the demolition men were arriving. There would often still be hot tea on the table! He then took anything of interest and sold it to antique shops before the demolition ball swung through. People assumed the GPO van was there on official business. 😝
