Job's Milk bottles
On the allotment, I have found many bottles and of them Job's milk bottles is one of the most common and a particular favourite of mine. There was a Job's dairy at 6 Leighton Road from 1921 until 1987. In the early day milk was delivered by push pram with milk churns and hand cans, in the mid 1920s Job's introduced bottled milk in Ealing. We have found bottles which cover each decade, although some designs cross over decades, and we haven't found all sizes of the bottles, but it is a good display.
I have found some details about the shop and the people who worked there, from the "Book of Job's" an internal magazine published from 1929-1987.
Here is an account of the Leighton Road branch from John Knight in 1934.
Ealing 1921-1934
I think our firm must be proud of the wonderful business they have at Ealing. When I come to look back 13 years ago. When jobs first came to Ealing and bought up a business doing about 160 gallons a week. I did not think it would ever do over 5000 gallons a week as it is doing now. After we had been here a few years we had a plant installed for pasteurising the milk, quite a miniature affair compared with Hanworth. Anyhow, we were very proud of it. We also had a "fridge", one of the smallest made, but it was only for "cold room" use, as our milk was only water cooled. The lowest we could cool it down to was 56°. This was the only trouble we had, but it was trouble hot and strong, and it was only the wonderful efforts put up by our salesman that saved our trade. We had several summers of this and it was really heartbreaking, but at last we were given a small Brine cooler a foot tall. Small though it was, it helped us quite a lot. Breakdowns were frequent, which meant working all night, and we hardly had time to sleep.
When we had to use all bottles we thought we might have an automatic filler; but no, we did not have enough room for it, so we had to be content with our six-syphon filler which made it a long job. Time went on, the branch was growing very fast, and the rival local firms began to take notice of the milk we were selling, but no matter what efforts they made to stem the tide of our success, we still put on more rounds.
Then we had a bottle-washing machine, another help for us, for it was a long job washing them by hand. Then the rumour came round that we were going to have a big plant built at Hanworth, and as you know it proved to be true. This meant losing our old plant, for it was old then- it hardly knew how to stand up! As the plant was being moved out it seemed like an old friend being laid to rest, a good old pal who had done the firm good service.
We then started receiving the milk from Hanworth, and it seemed good to us getting bottles shining brilliantly and so neatly capped; it was something new for us.
We now have 22 rounds as the result of 13 years work, I wonder how many we will have 13 years from today. At the rate we are going it will be 122!
A last word. Words alone cannot express how capable and efficient our manager, Mr Irvine, is. A great leader, who deserves every bit of success which has come his way. As for Mrs Irvine, she is every bit as good as he is. An ideal manager and manageress for an ideal depot.
John Knight - 1934
Jobs milk bottles found at Northfields allotments.
I have found a lot of milk bottles over the years. Below are images of actual milk bottles from each decade, although the 1920s and 1930s could be the same design, so I have classed them as 1930s.
MORE TO COME...