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AND MY ASSOCIATION WITH THEM J W Mansfield was a local family run business of over sixty years founded by the father Joseph Winwood Mansfield a professional cellist who had his own string orchestra and use to perform in Worthing in the late 1800's. I met him a few times, but died while I was serving my apprenticeship at the age of ninety-two. The original shop was in Montague Street and had a concert hall where well known and famous musicians of the times would perform one of my customers (who was a music teacher in Worthing for many years) remembers going there with her aunt as a young girl in the 1930's. Eventually parts of the building became individual shops and the remainder of the Mansfield shop became situated in Liverpool Road opposite the then Odeon cinema. The sons Eric and John took over the running of the business. I went there in 1962 straight from school at the age of fifteen my starting wage was £3 for a working week of 8 to 5.30 Monday to Fridays and 8 to 12 Saturdays. When I was fully qualified I would be on £15 a week although the most I ever earned was £13, but they were generous to me in other ways (see further down). They had a staff of around thirty as apart from the piano workshop they also had the TV workshop the two workshops making just over half of the workforce. There were three tuner technicians, the head of the workshop CG Francis who would give over fifty years unbroken service before retiring. The three had over 150 years experience between them. There was one other, but he was always in the workshop as he had been crippled by polio when he was very young - he had given twenty years service. Added to this were two other tuners who came to Worthing to retire and did part time, so I really had a wealth of experience teaching me the trade. In the shop they sold musical instruments including electronic organs (my parents buying me a new clarinet for £23) there were also departments for sheet music, records, radio and TV, and of course the piano showroom where they sold new and reconditioned pianos. The head of records was very knowledgeable in classical music, younger members of the staff catered for the pop records and like so many record shops of that era they use to have the listening booths, it was always busy on a Saturday and my wife Jenny use to go there with her brother to buy records - we probably passed each other not knowing that within nine years we would be husband and wife (we were married in 1971). The brothers always looked after the staff whether it was someone like me just starting out or my boss who had grown up with them as boys, but he was not the only member of the staff that had given many years of service, nearly forty years service were given by the head of the record department and the accounts office known as the twins of the firm because they started on the same day, thirty years by the head of the TV workshop and twenty seven given by the person that use to deliver the pianos etc. and one of the other tuners had been there twenty five years. Even in the few years I was with the firm they paid for all my driving lessons, a tailor made three piece suit for when I went out tuning and then paid for a new mini van which was mine to use in my own time. I remember on one occasion when I was asked to come in unexpectedly to do a tuning having arranged to go up to London - the only way I could get up there in time was to drive up. When I asked if it would be alright to use the van the answer came back 'make sure you park it in a safe place'. This was typical of them and just one example why the staff stayed so loyal to them. In 1966 they had a serious fire which caused a lot of damage, everything being covered in black smoke, apart from a picture of their father hanging on the office wall which was totally untouched. The brothers always made sure at least one of them would be in the shop. They never believed in hiding away in their office. Regular customers would often come in just to talk to them. In November 1968 the brothers retired from the business; it was then taken over by another company. I left in 1970 to work for Lyon & Hall of Brighton, leaving in 1972 to start my own business. |
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