More Tuck Shop memories

Our recent Tuck Shop post sparked a lot of interest. Mike Armitage (Donaldson's 1961-65) was one of those keen to expand on Mrs Wilding’s kindness, revealled through the creative use of postage stamps by a young boy at the end of term. 

Mrs Wilding was a fabulous lady!

Memories include buying a bottle of ginger beer for sixpence, (2.5p), and a packet of the new range of cheese and onion crisps at threepence, (1.5 p)!

Mrs Wilding, who, as you say, was a stern but very motherly shopkeeper, and was never condescending when a boy bought something for just a copper or two! The queue for the wire hatch often reached the door and beyond, and she was so quick with her sales that we never had to wait very long at all!

I was short of a few bob at the end of one term, so I asked her if she could buy me a postal order from the local post office, which she often did as we sometimes bought stuff from adverts in Exchange and Mart or other mags! I then stuck a couple of postage stamps, about sixpence worth, on it (as you could back then, to increase the value), and re-cashed it! She didn't bat an eyelid!

Wonderful memories of a lovely lady!

Mike also recalled more about his spending money.

I remember working out that I had eight old pence a day to last me to the end of term once - that's about 3.5p in new money! I think the 'recommended' allowance per boy was about a couple of pounds a term for younger boys and three pounds for the older boys - this might have been mentioned in the prospectus of the early 1960s!

And he was quite right about the ‘recommended’ allowance, confirmed - just as predicted - in the Prospectus of about 1964.  

It goes without saying that if you have any recollections you’d like to share about pocket money - or wirelesses or bicycles - we’d love to hear from you!