Skip navigation Skip hierarchy
Sainsbury Archive Logo

Table of content

  • Presents for the future—now 01

    Presents for the future—now
    CHRISTMAS IS COMING and this year
    JS present hunters will have a wider choice
    and better value than ever before. Over 80
    branches will be stocking the JS Christmas
    range, the bulk of which goes...

  • Bread queue blues 02

    Bread queue blues
    AMONGST many amusing tales
    from the days of the 'great bread
    shortage', came this plea for sanity
    from Ken Roach, customer service
    assistant at Basingstoke branch. Ken
    was shocked into action after...

  • Contents Page 02

    Pages 1-7
    General news
    Pages 8-15,24
    Feature
    Pages 16-17,20-23
    People
    Pages 18-19
    Letters

  • JS—no dough area! 02

    JS—no dough area!
    BREAD DISAPPEARED from the
    shops at the beginning of September as the
    result of an industrial dispute between the
    Bakers Union and the big three Federation
    bakers—Rank Hovis McDougall,
    Associated...

  • Chance for a share of the action 03

    Chance for a share of the action
    PLAYING THE STOCKMARKET
    needn't be a risky business if you are one of
    the 9000 members of staff who are eligible
    to take up this year's offer to acquire JS
    shares under the company's...

  • Lord Sainsbury to open Haverhill 03

    Lord Sainsbury to open Haverhill
    LORD SAINSBURY is to open JS's new
    supermarket at Haverhill, Suffolk, on
    October 11. Lord Sainsbury, better
    known at JS as Mr Alan, lives in a village
    less than ten miles from the new store....

  • Two depot staff branch out 03

    Two depot staff branch out
    IT'S NOT UNUSUAL for branch staff to
    move to depots and head office, but for the
    first time two JS employees at Hoddesdon
    depot have chosen to move into the sharp
    end of the...

  • New Cowley opens in the shop next door 04

    New Cowley opens in the shop next door
    ONLY THE EARLYBIRDS were
    around to see the opening of Cowley's
    newest JS store, right next to the old one.
    But this didn't worry manager Michael
    Broomfield as he unlocked the doors...

  • JD on LBC supermarket phone-in 05

    JD on LBC supermarket phone-in
    CHAIRMAN JOHN SAINSBURY had
    a 50 minute grilling on September 16 at the
    hands of LBC's listeners. Taking part in a
    phone-in programme on London's commercial
    radio news station he had to
    answer...

  • Rugby's dogged determination wins through 05

    Rugby's dogged determination wins through
    A SILVER LINING to every cloud has
    become the motto of Rugby branch staff".
    Their efforts in collecting silver paper have
    helped an ex-employee in her attempts to
    raise the cash for a...

  • Coffee—grounds for instant remorse 06

    Coffee—grounds for instant remorse
    THE LATEST MOVE to control the
    price of coffee came into effect last week.
    The voluntary agreement worked out
    between retailers and the government
    limits the shops' profit margin on...

  • JS chairman talks food prices on BBC 1 nine o'clock news 06

    JS chairman talks food prices on BBC 1 nine o'clock news
    'I DON'T think there's a slightest chance
    that food will get off the headlines' JS
    chairman John Sainsbury told BBC 1
    viewers during the nine o'clock news
    programme on...

  • Rain swells dried fruit prices 06

    Rain swells dried fruit prices
    CHRISTMAS ISN'T CHRISTMAS
    without rich fruit cake and plum pudding.
    But this year our traditional fare may not
    be quite as popular with the housewife
    since the cost of the main ingredient...

  • Work on cold store hots up 06

    Work on cold store hots up
    THE BIG FREEZE is spreading at
    Buntingford depot. Work has started on a
    "hew minus 5°F cold store and the conversion
    of existing plant to create a new
    28/30T store. Expenditure is expected to
    be...

  • Beans, means . . . 07

    Beans, means . . .
    GOOD NEWS for lovers of real coffee. JS
    blends of coffee beans and ground coffee
    went down in price on September 19.
    Careful buying on world markets enabled
    a price cut of 28p per pound. The cost of...

  • Dancing on the decks 'til dawn 07

    Dancing on the decks 'til dawn
    BELOW DECKS ON HMS BELFAST the revels lingered on into the wee small hours to
    the sound of 'Sweet Inspiration'; topsides, a romantic view of the Thames at Tower Bridge.
    The Belfast's 'crew' on...

  • Fight against vandals falls on deaf ears 07

    Fight against vandals
    falls on
    deafears
    WHAT'S ALL THIS EAR? Native hunters
    living around JS's new Lord's Hill
    superstore in Southampton have been
    claiming trophies from the hippo park
    outside. The five hippos, a popular...

  • JS sounds the all clear! 07

    JS sounds the all clear!
    YOU CAN SEE WHERE YOU ARE
    with these up-to-the-minute, stylish salt
    and pepper mills. Made in high quality
    clear acrylic plastic they will be on sale in
    about 20 JS stores by the end of September
    and...

  • Palliative jubilee message 07

    Palliative jubilee message
    SEEN written on a frozen food pallet at
    Wood Green, the following commemorative
    message:
    'To mark the silver jubilee of 1977, the
    distribution division has released a limited
    edition of25 roll...

  • Roy plays at trains for real 08

    Roy plays at trains for real
    RUNNING A RAILWAY is a lot like
    running a supermarket according to Roy
    Watts. And he should know. During the
    week he is deputy manager at Purley
    branch. At weekends and on his days off
    he is a...

  • Getting to the top . . . 10

    Getting to the top . . .
    THE BIRMINGHAM SKYLINE is
    noted for its high concrete buildings
    towering for a place on the horizon. The
    Birmingham College of Food is not one of
    the tallest but from her seventh floor
    window JS...

  • . . . hardwork but worth it 11

    . . . hardwork but worth it
    CERTIFICATES OF ACHIEVEMENT
    as hard won as jungle trophies line the
    walls of JS counsellor Cynthia Gillett's
    study at her home in Bexleyheath, Kent.
    At 15 she left school unqualified, with no
    idea...

  • JS bakeware comes clean 12

    JS bakeware comes clean
    From the top:
    Sandwich pan
    7in/178mm(59p)
    Flan pan 8in/203mm (87p)
    Sandwich pan 8in/203mm (66p)
    4 cup yorkshire pudding tray (80p)
    Round cake pan 7in/178mm (70p)
    12 cup tart tray (87p)
    Pie plate...

  • Des is one of the top ten drivers of the year 16

    Des is one of the top ten drivers of the year
    SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 11 was a big
    day for Buntingford driver Des Matthews
    as he competed in the national finals of the
    Lorry Driver of the Year competition in
    Nuneaton. Driving a 15...

  • Mark's heroic supersave 16

    Mark's heroic supersave
    WEST BROMWICH ISN'T BY THE
    SEA, but student employee Mark Warner
    managed to pull off a remarkable lifesaving
    feat this summer. Whilst on holiday
    with his family in Tenby, West Wales,
    17-year-old Mark...

  • Oil-slickers! 16

    Oil-slickers!
    OIL-RICH ARABS, those free-spending
    connoisseurs of the British high life, almost
    foiled SSA plans for an ultra-swish
    Christmas celebration. Upper Court, a
    40-room mansion in Surrey and the former
    home of Lloyd...

  • Richard's sights are set on success 17

    Richard's sights are set on success
    AIMING FOR a successful career in JS is
    22-year-old Richard Gardiner, the newest
    PA at Blackfriars. Richard has been personal
    assistant to director Joe Barnes for
    just three months but he...

  • Your letters 18

    Your letters
    Letters are welcome and should be
    addressed to the editor. Money isn't everything?
    From: Henry Arrowsmith, J S veteran,
    Bristol
    Regarding the complaint from Mr Moloney
    about his unfair pay scale (see...

  • Polyester is everyone's choice 19

    Polyester is everyone's choice
    LOTS OF YOU made the most of
    this last chance to get your JS
    overall design ideas published in
    the Journal, and to win a £1 JSgift
    token.
    We have passed all your ideas on
    to the retail...

  • Sally Supermarket! 19

    Sally Supermarket!
    ALL IN THE FAMILY? Watford
    branch has its very own 'Miss Sainsbury'
    in the shapely form of 17-year-old Sally
    Sainsbury. Young Sally, pictured right,
    is studying to become a medical secretary
    and since...

  • Appointments 20

    Appointments
    Frank Gandy, formerly senior engineer,
    clerk of works, Clapham has been appointed
    acting maintenance manager at
    SavaCentre, Washington.
    P A White, formerly depot security
    advisor, distribution division,...

  • Long service 20

    Long service
    Jim Brumwell, electrical supervisor, Woking
    area office, celebrated 40 years with JS
    on July 12.
    Mr Brumwell started with JS at Running
    Horses Yard and was responsible for
    servicing a chaff-cutting machine. He...

  • Obituary 21

    Obituary
    Richard Brown,' reserve head butcher,
    Surbiton, died on July 12. He had been
    with the company for 41 years.
    Starting with JS as a trainee Mr Brown
    subsequently worked in various branches
    including Hythe, Folkestone...

  • Retirements 21

    Retirements
    Vera Birchby joined JS to help out over the
    Christmas trading period, i only intended
    to stay about a month' she says. On
    September 16 Vera retired after not one
    month but 31 years with JS.
    'My daughter had not...

  • Bromley is something special to Vera 22

    Bromley is something special to Vera
    THE CHEERFUL FACE of Vera Joyce
    is rapidly becoming a familiar sight at JS's
    Bromley branch. Every Friday she wheels
    her trolley through the store doing her
    weekly shopping.
    But Mrs Joyce...

  • Gareth joins the Journal newshounds 22

    Gareth joins the Journal newshounds
    GARETH RENOWDEN joins the JS
    Journal reporting team this month as an
    assistant editor.
    Gareth is 23. He was born in Cardiff but
    spent his early childhood in the Outer and
    Inner Hebrides. A...

  • Romance in the air 22

    Romance in the air
    MARRIAGES ARE MADE in heaven and in Bishop's Stortford branch it seems. Daphne
    Knight and Alan Piper are the tenth couple to have met at the branch and eventually
    married.
    Alan is an assistant manager and...

  • Doug's teacake is all part of the service at Ipswich 23

    Doug's teacake is all part of the service at Ipswich
    - . . . . CUSTOMERS at JS's Ipswich branch
    can pick up a recipe for Irish fruit cake
    along with their shopping basket, if the
    man on the door is Doug Lambert.
    Doug has...

  • Mary makes everything better 23

    Mary makes everything better
    Manager Chris Phillips and first-aider Mary Dormer take a great pride in the letters they
    receive from grateful customers. 'THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE
    SAINSBURY'S' claims Mary Dormer,
    first-aider at...

  • Mysterious eternal triangle? 23

    Mysterious eternal triangle?
    CAN YOU HELP to identify this latest JS
    archives mystery? The triangular glass
    dish was found by Mrs Buchanan of
    Horsell and was sent in to the archives via
    Woking branch. The dish is about...

  • Plait-a-mat 24

    Plait-a-mat
    DUST OFF your creative urges and make an unusual rug out of dusters. Yes dusters,
    as sold at many large JS supermarkets. Maria Beeston did, and her rug, plus making
    instructions, will soon be appearing in a number...