Federation Of Family History Societies

Were you a Supermarket Shopper in the 1950s and 1960s?

Researchers at the Universities of Exeter and Surrey are looking for shoppers from the period 1945 - 1975 to talk about their experiences. The information will be used to build up a picture of how Britain changed from being a nation that predominantly bought its goods from small retailers to one that pushed a trolley around the local supermarket once a week. The research is sponsored by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and is set to run until the end of the year.

The project aims to investigate the different reactions to self-service in different regions of the UK. It is also designed to look at the differences between male and female consumers and whether different ways of organising family life influenced the way people shopped. If you can remember using self-service food shops or supermarkets please contact Adrian Bailey at the University of Exeter: Tel. 01392 262523. He will forward a questionnaire, which will inform you about their exciting oral history project. To find out more, please visit their research website at www.sobe.ex.ac.uk/shopping