...Group 4 In-house magazines early 1970's

Group 4 Total Security was the private company which, long after these magazines were published, became part of the public company G4S. The number 4 came from the four aspects of the business: Security Officers, who were either beat or static, in other words based at a premises, or patrolling several properties during a working shift; alarm systems, which the company both manufactured and fitted; Cash-in-Transit, which involved moving cash from one place to another; and Store Detectives, who were exclusively female.

The security industry was a very male dominated one, and the magazines reflect that, and the unreconstructed attitudes towards women in the early 1970's. The extracts below provide some examples.

A sales conference: Find the lady...

There isn't one !

The advertising was quite inventive, and I believe it won awards.

...Hop Pickers 1913

Worcestershire hop pickers pause for refreshments and a group photograph in 1913.

..Golly Badges 1960's

Golly Badges issued by Robertson's Jam have a somewhat mixed reputation these days. They were issued from the 1920's until around the year 2000, and these are the paper labels which you needed to collect before sending off for your badge.

They were either pictured as musicians or sportsmen. And if I recall correctly you needed to collect about ten labels in order to apply for that particular badge, and pay a small amount towards postage. I stand to be corrected on that. Either way, it required the consumption of a lot of jam to get the full set.

Here are some of the badges from the 1960's which I obtained.

...a postcard recording a record run

This postcard records the record run in a motor vehicle in 1913 by Ivan Beaucleck Hart-Davies from John O'Groats in Scotland to Land's End in Cornwall. This he achieved with his co-driver, and the assistance en-route of guides, in a record time of 34 hours 39 minutes to cover the 886 miles. He had achieved the same record two years earlier on a Triumph Motorcyle in 29 hours 12 minutes.

His average speed was twenty-five and a half miles per hour, and therefore in breach of the Motor Car Act of 1903 which set the maximum speed for motorised vehicles on the road at twenty miles per hour.

Hart-Davies joined the Royal Flying Corp in 1916, the precursor of the RAF, and was killed in a flying accident in England aged thirty nine, shortly before his intended transfer to the battlefront in France.

More information about Hart-Davies can be discovered online.

...a pencil sharpener fashioned as a medieval catapult

This little pencil sharpener is in the form of a medieval catapult. The topic of medieval siege engines is a fascinating one. There were various types. A Trebuchet used a large counter-balance to launch missiles - either solid stones or later cannonballs filled with gunpowder - over the battlements of castles or walled towns. Fireballs and dead bodies, especially diseased ones, were also sometimes launched into besieged places. A working reproduction of a Trebuchet can be seen at Warwick Castle, and proves it was a fearsome weapon. The Mangonel worked on a similar principle but was designed to strike and destroy walls, and thus had a lower and faster angle of fire. The Onager was probably nearest in type to the above, as it was a small engine that used twisted rope and springs, more like a catapult.

This pencil sharpener is capable of firing small balls of paper and plasticine.

...Cycling accessories booklet 1938

This pre-war booklet issued by the cycle manufacturer Holdsworth to its suppliers contains an eighty page array of cycling gear, with prices, in pre-decimal currency of course.

From clothing to bicycle parts, it is a comprehensive list of accessories available to the cyclist of that era, whether a racing biker or a casual tourer.

There were no plastics at the time, other than bakelite, so the items are mostly fabricated from metal, fabric, glass and leathers.

As an aid to happy cycling, please place your order now for an anti-rattle feeding bottle carrier.

Their name was Mud

The Flamingo Ballroom, Redruth, was a pop and rock venue in Cornwall, which saw some big names play there during the 1960’s and 70’s in what was a fairly modest building. See this link for more information and pictures.

 

http://kernowbeat.co.uk/flamingo.html

Passing through Cornwall in 1974 I saw a concert by the four piece pop band Mud, of which two members have since departed this world. Punk rock was still a year or two away, though the habits of its audience had begun to appear. A young lad near me started spitting at the band. After a while, another lad took exception, and told him to stop. Suddenly there was a fight, and it is surprising how much space can be found in a packed room when necessary. If I recall correctly, the defender of the band came off worst, and received a bloody nose. Like the orchestra on the Titanic, during the incident the band played on. That’s right, that’s right, that’s right, that’s right…