Memories of the different companies and businesses in Great Yarmouth and Gorleston

By Laura Matthews

I worked at Heatrod Elements in Gorleston in 1972 for 8 weeks. There was a factory next door called Swallow Prams that made prams and on the other side was a frozen food factory called Rosling Frozen Foods.

I moved to Bejoss, which was a lingerie factory in Gorleston High Street where we also made baby clothes. Ronald Piper was the manger I remember that the canteen window faced the river so we could see the boats come in at Christmas time they had Christmas trees on the masts. I was told Bejoss used to be the Birds Eye Club. It was a German firm we sewed for Tesco, Woolworth's and other places. When I lived there the Birds Eye Club was just over the Haven Bridge going towards Southtown.

Next door to Bejoss was Mattie's confectioner; there were a few of them in Great Yarmouth and Gorleston. There was a Woolworth's further down the High Street and a post office.  Somewhere in Gorleston was a Johnson's Sewing Factory they made overalls. They also had a factory on The Conge in Great Yarmouth and one on The South Denes.  There was a spaghetti factory over in Cobhome. The Horses that pulled the Landau's on the front were kept in Cobhome.

There was Corona Pop factory in Yarmouth and Smiths Crisps I think they were down in the Northgate street area. There was Erie Electronics on the South Denes also Birds Eye, a Slipper factory, a factory that made jumpers and Docra's had a rock factory there. There was Grouts Silk Mills that had once been called Jersey Knapwood. Over the Vauxhall Bridge was weaving mill that wove material for wedding dresses.