Report: Kate Hurst

Ormskirk and District Family History Society enjoyed a talk by David Tomlinson (retired Technical Director of Warburtons) on “The Staff Of Life”.

In it, he told the story of how Thomas and Ellen Warburton bought a grocers’ shop in Bolton in 1876, before later generations of the family expanded the business further, and experimented with all sorts of franchises and new products as they evolved into a world-famous brand that can be found in just about every home and shop in the UK.

Bread has long been a staple part of the human diet; Mr. Tomlinson peppered his talk with details that wheat will grow in just about every type of climate, that bread has been made from the same basic ingredients for millennia, that a seven-thousand year old bread oven has been found in Turkey, and that (in Britain) the weight of a standard loaf has been controlled for at least 500 years.

The engaging evening saw the room filled with the scent of bubbling yeast, as Mr. Tomlinson demonstrated how to activate the vital raising agent, and even featured the company’s recent Jane Austen parody advert “Pride and Breadjudice” (starring Peter Kay).

Many at the meeting were puzzled to receive a raffle ticket when they arrived, but all became clear at the end of the night, when the guest speaker generously hosted a bread raffle. Whether it was a packet of crumpets, a seeded batch or a fruit loaf, everyone went home with an edible memento of the evening.

The next meeting of Ormskirk and District Family History Society will be held tomorrow, Wednesday 24 July at the Guide HQ on Moorgate, Ormskirk, when Society member Anne Ryall will give her talk 'From Ormskirk To Invercargill: A Family Story 1853-2017', an account of how she traced the story of her father William Birchall’s “cousin Kate”, whose story began in Ormskirk and ends with her living descendants in Invercargill, South Island New Zealand.
Doors will open at 7.30p.m., for an 8p.m. start.

All welcome; £1 donation requested from non-members, and refreshments will be available as usual.