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London North Western
Railway:
Midland
Railway:
Stratford
Midland Junction Railway
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LMS Route: Rugby to Wolverhampton
Brandon and Wolston: lnwrbw3293
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Looking towards Coventry along the station's down platform
with the goods yard and shed on the right in the 1930s. The photograph had no
date or any other information on it but by comparing the cleanliness of the
canopy on the up platform and the relatively completeness of the canopy on the
down platform with photographs taken in 1947 (see images 'lnwrbw537b' and 'lnwrbw3094a') it is in our view a creditable date.
On the right is a poster for John White Shoes, which are still manufactured
today. The business was founded in the midst of a post war depression
one that hit the shoe trade particularly hard. The business went on to sell
millions. In 1920, a three-storey house on Church Street became John White's
first factory. There were clickers on the top floor, sewers and stitchers on
the middle, and finishers on the ground. There was also a big room set aside
for a team making shoes completely by hand. The company was soon selling 6,000
pairs a week. In 1939, John White built his flagship factory. Based on Lime
Street in Rushden, the front was emblazoned with Impregnable Boots.
Impregnable was apt, not only as the name of their most reputable Goodyear
welted boots, but also because 1939 was the dawn of the second world war
during which John White would play a major role.
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