Ted Pocknell
Ted’s recording is not available, so here is a short summary of his life.
The Man Behind the Shop
As a young boy, Ted was a keen swimmer, gymnast and rower. He used to enjoy camping and swimming in the River Wye with friends, as there was no swimming pool in Hereford at that time. In his twenties he joined the Hereford Rowing Club and, when the local swimming baths opened in Kyrle Street, Ted did a lot of competitive swimming representing Hereford Swimming Club. He joined their water polo team and later became a referee. As well as competitions with counties such as Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire, galas were held when British Olympic champions and champion divers from overseas visited. In 1936 a German Olympic Swimming Team came to Hereford and Ted remembered them giving the Nazi salute. After the war Ted continued to row and swim in the River Wye. Ted was a strong swimmer with no sense of danger and was known for diving off the bridge into the river at Bredwardine.
Ted volunteered for the British Army in WWII and was posted to Monte Cassino in Italy. Because of his experience of the grocery trade he was put in charge of supplying troops with petrol, food and ammunition. After the war, he resumed managing Deans Stores grocery shop in Hereford.
Ted moved to Fownhope in 1960 with his wife Olive when they took over running the village shop, Manchester House Stores. They lived in the house adjacent to the shop, Alpha House. The shop was very basic when they arrived and only had one electric light and no lavatory. Ted refurbished the shop and transformed it into a bustling local hub. He sold wines and spirits and put in a delicatessen counter selling bacon and hams, which he sliced by machine, and whole cheeses, which he cut with cheese wires. Ted delivered groceries to many customers in Fownhope and nearby villages and some customers made long detours especially to visit the shop.
The Post Office in Fownhope used to be run by the Grant family in Ferry Lane and when they retired the Post Office asked Ted if he would like to take it over. He agreed and Olive became the postmistress. She loved to chat with the customers and give children sweets when they came into the shop. Olive enjoyed being a member of Fownhope W.I. who Ted always referred to as ‘We Interfere’.
In 1961 Ted founded Hereford Grocers (Wholesale) Ltd as a non-profit making organisation in response to the rise of multiple grocers, such as Tesco. He banded together a group of independent grocers like himself so that they could buy goods in bulk thus achieving a lower wholesale price. He collected provisions from Hereford Grocers every Wednesday afternoon in his estate car, when it was half day closing at the shop. He was chairman of Hereford Grocers for many years and had a good social life with his grocer friends and their wives regularly going to dances and dinners.
Ted fondly remembered the many colourful characters living in Fownhope. He enjoyed meeting up with some of them for a pint in the New Inn amongst whom were Stan Hardwick, Denzil Biggs and Les Gummery.
Ted and Olive had two daughters and ran the shop from 1960 until they retired in 1978. After they retired they enjoyed many holidays abroad, including a world cruise, something they’d been unable to do whilst running the shop.
Ted and Olive’s contribution to Fownhope was not just through the shop they ran, but through the life they lived. They thrived in Fownhope; they loved village life and had a deep connection to the village they called home.
