Person:Richard Western (3)

From the 18 February, 2003, Exeter Express and Echo newspaper:

Mary writes: "The [R.D. Western, senior] bakery picture appeared in our tribute on January 7 to the late Dick Western [Richard David Western] who became boss of the big Mother's Pride bakery at Exwick and a director of British Bakeries. Dick used to work in the family business but when it was decided to close it in 1956 was briefly with a bakery in Tiverton before his move to Mother's Pride. " The article continues:

His sister, Mary Long, wife of Norman Long - they were Mayor and Mayoress of Exeter in 1978 - told me she grew up in the Cowick Street premises when her dad, the late Bert Western [Albert Edward Western] was running the bakery. She told me: "I had a very happy childhood there and your recent feature about my brother Dick brought back some wonderful memories for me. I was very found of the horses which pulled two of the delivery vans. At that time we had the two horse-drawn vans and six motor vans, all doing bread delivery rounds in Exeter and district." Mary said the only surviving member of her father's bakery team, Bob Passmore, also remembered how they used to bake doughcake mixtures for the local housewives. The bakery provide the dough and the ladies would add their own sugar, fat and furit and return the mix to the bakery to be cooked. Bob believed the charge was sixpence (2.5p) which probably include the price of the ready-made dough. Mary said that as a child she remembered how the bakery came to the rescue when gas, water and electricity supplies were cut off by the blitz of 1942. "I can remember lots of people bringing baking trays of potatoes and meat to the bakery for us to cook for them in ovens," she recalled. "Our ovens were coke-fired and still worked when the gas and electric-fired ones were out of action. We also help to keep Exeter supplied with bread when the other bakeries couldn't operate." Mary added that after her family decided to close the business in the mid 1950's, the bakery site was used to provide extra space for the Cowick Street First School."

ONS Marriage index WesternRichard D.CookeKingsbridge7a861Jun1958