All archive pictures: swop.org.uk The Octagon, Murrays, Woolworths and the delicious smell from a chocolate factory – these are just some of the things readers remember about growing up in High Wycombe. ‘You know you grew up in Wycombe when you remember…’ – that is the question we put to members in our ‘We Grew Up in Wycombe’ Facebook group and the answers were not surprising. Anyone who grew up in the town will know these memories as being synonymous with High Wycombe. All the archive photos can be found at swop.org.uk.
Stewart and Arnold chocolate factory Many readers wistfully remembered the scrumptious smell of chocolate from Stewart and Arnold’s (S&A).
Woolworths One of Britain’s quintessential high street stores has to be Woolworths. As children we used to run in after school to grab a bag of pick ‘n’ mix whilst tasting the odd one as we went. Mums always referred to it as ‘Woolies’ and no back-to-school shop was complete without stopping into the store. The “Woolworths 3d & 6d Store” was on the Church Street side of Queen Sq, Nos 5&6, and opened to shoppers early in 1927. It then acquired new premises and replaced the Red Lion Hotel in the High Street. The new High Wycombe Woolworths store was officially opened by Miss United Kingdom on September 7, 1972.