Old Photograph of Grindleford - A.F. Hancock's Shop (1940)

Scene outside A.F. HANCOCK's shop in Grindleford in the Winter of 1940. The figure in the foreground is a German Prisoner of War, from the PoW Camp at Calver, one of a gang employed for clearing snow. Looking out from the front door of “Moorhurst” (the house with the name above the door to the right of the shop) is the submitter, Alan Jacques's Mum Elsie, with Mr and Mrs Edward (“Teddy”) WHITE, who were soon to leave Grindleford for Calver, where they expanded their Coach business (now ‘White's Tours’ - still active in the present day!). The sign above the shop front's snow-covered roof says ‘Colman's Starch’.

A.F. (Aaron Frost) HANCOCK was born in 1879, the son of Thomas HANCOCK of Grindlow, an Oil Merchant and Farmer (q.v. Grindlow 1891 Census) A successful businessman, he owned a "chain" of village shops in the Hope Valley in the early part of the 20th century. Alan's father Tom JACQUES become the Branch Manager for the Grindleford store in 1933.

Alan has also very kindly supplied another photograph of A.F. Hancock's Shop in 1935.

(Information provided by Rosemary Lockie)