Grantham couple retire after 44 years working at company where they met

A couple who have been working at the same location for 44 years and have become “part of the furniture” are set to retire.

Philip and Elizabeth Edwards will be leaving the Morrisons Daily, on New Beacon Road, in Grantham, on November 17 – two days after Philip’s 66th birthday on November 15.

The pair began working at the store next door, with Philip as branch manager, in 1980 when it was known as Forbuoys, and have since seen several name changes as it became Martins, McColl’s, and later Morrisons, expanding into its current location.

Philip started life as a paperboy for the company in 1975 in Shepshed, then working as an assistant manager in Evington, before doing relief work in Nottingham, Leicester, and Coventry.

Elizabeth, now 62, began her career at Forbuoys in Coventry in 1977 at the age of 15.

The duo met when Elizabeth was 16 and Philip was carrying out relief work at Forbuoys in Coventry; however, they didn’t officially get together until the company’s Christmas do following confusion over who had won a raffle.

“I thought I'd won the raffle prize, and Elizabeth thought she'd won the raffle prize - as it worked out, as usual, she was right and I was wrong,” said Philip.

They got married two years later, the August after Philip took over as branch manager in Grantham - the pair had moved for the role.

The pair have been at the heart of the community since then and have been involved in numerous charity and community projects, including company five-a-side tournaments, raffles, and tombolas.

Currently, the store is raising money for LIVES but plans to help Macmillan Cancer Support in the near future.

“Life here has been wonderful; we’ve really enjoyed it,” said Philip.

“It’s tough these days and a very hard work environment with large deliveries; it’s hard graft, but we enjoy it.”

“We are looking forward to retirement,” he added.

The couple have seen the area grow over that time too, from a small shop under Forbuoys, watching new developments such as the area around Alma Park, including First Avenue and the surrounding estates, being built up.

The shop has gone from strength to strength, including winning Shop of the Area and Shop of the Year previously.

“We’ve got some competition now, but we still do very well, and we’re still liked in the community, hence we have a lot of people coming to the shop to see us,” said Philip.

“We’ve put everything into it,” said Elizabeth, noting they were “part of the furniture” now.

The pair had two children who grew up in the town.

Not only that, but they have seen numerous paperboys and papergirls over the years, with some families of nearly three generations being employed by the pair.

“It’s coming to light that some of the original boys and girls are now having children, and their children are doing paper rounds for us, which is quite surreal,” said Philip.

“We’ve brought our family up in Grantham; we’ve lived here and I couldn’t imagine us living anywhere else now.

“Now our children have grown up, and we’ve got grandchildren here – it’s been our life.

“We’ve got to know all the customers and their families over the years; it will be sad for us to go, but it’s our time; everybody moves on, and it’s time to hand the reins over to somebody else.”

Post-retirement, the pair plan to travel, volunteer, and spend more time with family, as well as get on with gardening, bowls, and being part of the local church community.

They said they also hope to catch up on family events they hadn’t managed to attend over the years because of work shifts.

“We’d just like to say thank you to all the staff members we’ve had over the years and all the customers who have come in, past and present,” said Elizabeth.

“We’ve had some really good staff over the years, and we thank them and customers for being so loyal and supporting us; we’re eternally grateful.”

A collection has been made for the couple ahead of their retirement, with contributions from shoppers as well as colleagues.