Alan Hartley was never supposed to open a fruit and veg shop.
A career in engineering was on the cards for the-then 19-year-old, but Alan’s eyes and heart were set on running his own mobile store.
He spoke to mum Janet and dad Albert and had a chat with the council about his options.
In November 1960, while still a teenager, he took control of an empty unit at what would become known as the Gaunt Shopping Centre – it wasn’t on wheels, but it was his.
On Friday, 64 years later, Alan pulled down the shutter for the final time on local retail institution AE Hartley & Son.
When we meet him, Alan, now 83, surveys the scene around the shop, including new buildings and the empty neighbouring stores in which the tills went quiet a long time ago.
“We’d be looking at a field now,” he says, gazing across the concrete precinct.
“Not a big brick wall at the back of a chemist. The view was definitely better then.”
