Our Story in Full
- PEOPLE
- PREMISES
- EXHIBITIONS
- THE WAR YEARS
People
Charles Frederick Hancock (1807 – 1891)
CF Hancock, the founder of the company which still bears his name was born in Birmingham on 14 May 1807, the son of a successful businessman, also Charles Hancock. Hancock Senior's primary profession was a jeweller who also had business interests in the insurance industry. The family was based at 12 New Street, today pedestrianised and dominated by modern buildings. Hancock senior's small ads in the Birmingham Chronicle thank his customers from the 'Nobility and Gentry'. This is something Charles junior clearly picked up on and later turned into no idle claim. The elder Hancock was an active supporter of various charities. In short, a pillar of Birmingham society.
At some stage as a young man, possibly around 1830, Charles Hancock moved to London to try his luck in the jewellery and silversmith business. Evidently he forged a successful career with leading London jewellers [Paul] Storr and [John] Mortimer. Following the retirement of the two principals of that company, its business was subsumed into the firm Hunt and Roskell, a successful jewellery business under that name until the 1960s. CFH became a partner 'by purchase' in Hunt and Roskell on 1 January 1843 (see John Bull letter to Editor 27 June 1849) where he continued to build a reputation in the business and a network of contacts among royalty and aristocracy throughout Europe and the Near East.
Newspaper reports from 1849 credit Hancock with his 'original idea' of annually visiting in person the crowned heads of Europe on a sales Grand Tour. He was also connected with the Sultan, the Grand Pasha and leaders of the 'New World', presumably Latin America. When he broke with Hunt and Roskell the previous year to found his own business, Hancock's priceless contact book would have been the envy of his competitors at home and abroad.
It was during this period that Charles Hancock married Maria Edington at St James's Piccadilly in 1842, when he was about 35 and she 21. This would have been around six years prior to the foundation of his own eponymous jewellery and silverware business.
The Edingtons.
Maria Hancock was the daughter of John James Edington (1797 – 1882) and his wife Jane (1898 – 1880). The Edingtons were, like the Hancocks, jewellers. It is likely that Maria would have carried a dowry and it seems that the Edingtons may have taken a step back from the industry to make a clear path for their ambitious new kinsman. They did continue, however, as suppliers to the Hancock company. [needs more work] Certainly CF Hancock took good care of the Edington clan, making hearth and home (from 1860, Hendon Hall) available to them for the rest of their lives.
Charles Hancock's split from Hunt and Roskell seems to have been less than amicable. First, the foundation of Hancock and Co. predates his resignation as a director from H and R on 29 January 1849 (Evening Gazette). Not ideal. Second, there was friction over the legacy of Storr and Mortimer, a name which carried a lot of what we'd call brand equity. In August 1850, Hunt and Roskell took the step of calling Hancock before the Master of the Rolls to demand that they and not he may refer to their business as being the 'successors of Storr and Mortimer'. Hancock's recent advertisements in the press for his new venture had described himself as being 'the late partner of Hunt and Roskell, successors to Storr and Mortimer'. This seems perfectly fair, but feathers had been ruffled.
Popular, charismatic, energetic, astute. As we have seen, he wasn't one to sit back and wait for business to come to him at Bruton Street (although the shop received many very prestigious clients over the years). In addition to his travelling salesman method, Hancock committed the company to all the big international trade fairs in Europe, starting with Hyde Park's Great Exhibition of 1851 when the company was still in its infancy. There followed Paris (1855), London (1862) Paris Universal Exhibition (1867) Vienna (1867).
These shows lasted many months, yet Hancock always committed his leading men to the long stay far from home. It was worth it. From the start, Hancocks won many prestigious awards and medals, often exclusively.
Charles Hancock was a thoroughly modern entrepreneur, even by 20th and 21st Century standards. Nor did he let ego get in the way of business. Realising he couldn't do it all on his own, he recruited some talented hard-working salesmen not unlike himself and imbued in them what we might call the Hancock Way. These were Henry John Dore (1832 – 1895) and Horatio Stewart (1826 – 1907) (see below). The three men led the firm from strength to strength.
Hendon Hall.
After about 25 years of living above the shop, so to speak, in Mayfair, on 17 July 1866, Hancock signed a 21 year lease on Hendon Hall and farmlands in North London at £500 pa. He must've liked the place because in 1870 he purchased the Hendon Hall estate outright for £30,200 (close to £2 million in 2017 (BNA)). He threw himself and the family into local community affairs, becoming very much the local worthy.
C.F. Hancock died on 10 February 1891, aged 83 His executors, the law firm, H.F. Baxter* valued his estate at 'over' £63,000 which is the equivalent in 2017 prices to £5.2 million according to the British National Archive. Hancock was interred in the family vault at Hendon churchyard on Saturday 14 February. The funeral, although private, was a lavish affair. According to the Hendon and Finchley Times, the route of the cortege was lined with hundreds of local well-wishers who knew the deceased over the 25 years that the family had lived in Hendon.
Hancock's widow, Maria Jane (nee Edington) died on 8 August 1897, aged 75. Her estate was valued at £30,851, 2017 equivalent of £2.4 million in 2017, according to the BNA.
[* related to the Hancocks through marriage.]
Horatio Stewart (18 December 1825* – 10 February 1907)
Horatio Stewart was born in Battersea, London. He became a Partner in Hancock and Co in 1866. Horatio Stewart married to Emily Jean Harrison (1829 – 1876) in 1850. They had seven children, Horace, Emily, Clara, Ernest, Allan, Charlie and Gertrude. In the 1850s the family lived in St Pancras, later moving to Belsize Park, Hampstead. In the 1861 census he was listed as a 'Jeweller's Assistant'. In 1881 he was recorded as 'Silversmith and Jeweller'.
Horatio Stewart retired from Hancocks on 1 October 1885 a few weeks shy of 60, hosting a farewell restaurant dinner for colleagues and friends a few weeks later.
He died at his son-in-law's home in Bromley in 1907 according to the HRB.
* Listed sometimes as having been born in 1826. 1825 seems more likely.
Henry ('Harry') Hancock Dore (27/10/1865 – 26/07/1929)
The eldest son of Henry John Dore and Louisa Dore. HH married Florence Susan [?] in 1892.
Henry Hanock Dore, aged 30, and his younger brother Alfred George became partners in Hancocks on 1 May 1895.
HH Dore died on 26 July 1929 of a cerebral tumour aged 63 (HRB).
His estate was valued at £22,901 net or £1,048,000 2017 equivalent (BNA).
Alfred George Dore (1867 - 1935)
Alfred George Dore was the younger son of Henry John Dore.
He became a partner of Hancocks in 1895, a few months prior to the death of his father Henry (see above) who, by an amazing coincidence of Fate, died within hours of Edith Dore's own father, Mr Addley Bourne (father of J.A. Bourne), on 27 November 1895. Both men were buried the following Saturday.
Alfred and Edith's two sons fared poorly in WW1. Rennie Dore, b1894 (2nd Lieut), who signed up at the start of the conflict in 1914, was killed on 1 July 1916 at Contalmaison (i.e. Somme). His younger brother Donald was shell-shocked and gassed at Ypres in September 1917. Clearly he returned to action, for on 30 July 1918, he sustained a severe head wound, again at Ypres.
We may here remind ourselves that their cousin Gerald (see below) was wounded in the foot and leg in 1917. The Dore family clearly did their bit.
Shortly after the death of his elder brother, in 1930 Alfred shared the burdens of partnership with his nephew Gerald and JA Bourne. He will have been the senior man until he passed away 16 November 1935 after a series of hospital stays relating to prostate trouble from at least a year previous.
Gerald Leo Hancock Dore (4/12/1897 – 27/9/1981) aka 'Mister Gerald'
The last of the Dore family to be directly involved with Hancocks. An avuncular character who served with the RAF (Royal Flying Corps to start) in both World Wars. Suffered gunshot wounds to the leg and foot in October 1917. Known affectionately among subordinates and colleagues within Hancocks as 'Mr Gerald'. He joined the company officially on 29 April 1920, about seven months after J.A. Bourne. Both of them became full partners in May 1930, joining Gerald's father H.H. Dore and uncle Alfred Dore. These men steered the company through the inter-war period until Gerald and John Bourne both left to serve in WW2. They then remained involved for decades afterwards. Gerald married in 13 June 1925. [more here: he married twice] GLH Dore resigned from the Board on 20 September 1977 after 57 years with the firm. When he died in 1981, his estate was valued at £61,290.
John Addley Bourne [11/02/1902 - 1984]
J.A. Bourne was a member through marriage of the Dore family. He joined Hancocks on 30 September 1919 and apart from war service remained with the company for over six decades. The HRB tells us that he broke his ankle playing rugby in November 1925. During WW2 he joined the Royal Armoured Corps in August 1941, later receiving a commission in the Pioneer Corps in 1943. He became a Liveryman of the Goldsmiths Company in 1951. Bourne became Chairman of the Council of the Goldsmiths, Silversmiths and Jewellers Benevolent Society in 1971, a position to which he was repeatedly elected in the following years. Also in the early 1970s, he was ‘summoned’ several times as a juror at the Trial of the Pyx. This is an annual procedure held at Goldsmiths’ Hall over several months where by a Jury, led by the monarch’s Remembrancer, literally tests quality the national coinage from the Royal Mint issued during the previous 12 months. We presume in this case, the appointment was honorific rather than technical.
Walter Henry James Wixley (1877 - 1959)
WHJ Wixley, son of a London watchmaker, was a silversmith based in Southend-on-Sea. The 1891 Census lists him as a grocer's apprentice near Southend at age 14. Ten years later, in 1901 aged 24, he is described as a Jewellers Manager, now based in Middlesborough. He has found his ultimate calling and doing well. By 1911 we find him back in Southend, newly married to Maud and with a baby daughter. They employ a domestic. Walter's job title is 'Jeweller silversmith watchmaker dealer'. He became the Chairman of Hancocks from when he joined in 1935 until his sudden death from heart failure on 24 February 1959, aged 82. He steered the company through the war years while other principals J A Bourne and Gerald LH Dore were in the armed services.
Miss Emmeline Florence Willis [7/12/1899 – 20/3/1999]
This remarkable lady was mostly referred to simply as 'Miss Willis', occasionally 'Miss EF Willis', and on one occasion in The Jeweller magazine (16/8/1979) as 'Lena Willis'.
On 1 October 1945, the Hancock Record Book notes that Miss Willis joined the firm as Mr Wixley's secretary and 'salesman'. In fact, she had known Wixley since at least 1921 when she had been employed by him in his Southend business as a 'Jeweller's Assistant'. In July 1949 Miss Willis left the company on grounds of ill health and moved to Brighton. She was clearly sorely missed because on 1 January 1950 this remarkable businesswoman returned as a director of the company no less. There she remained for the next two decades. The HRB is peppered with her astonishing sales triumphs. At random, this example, 12 Feb 1960: 'Miss Willis sold a fine emerald cut diamond for £3,000/-/-'. There are many more. But she was a buyer too. Sometimes accompanied by Wixley, she often travelled on stock replenishment trips. Her eye for quality was widely attested. On 13 October 1959 the HRB records that Miss Willis was elected Vice President of the British Association of Women Executives. In March 1963 she travelled to Amsterdam as the company's representative at the National Association of Goldsmiths' annual conference. The entry for 31 December 1970 stated: 'Miss E F Willis retired from the Board of Directors after 20 years as a director. A wonderful saleswoman and judge of stones.' In March 1971 the company presented Miss Willis with a silver dish and a cheque for £2,000 in recognition of her service to Hancocks and Co.
She died at a rest home in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, in 1999, aged 99.
David Callaghan [c 1930s - ]
David Callaghan joined Hancocks as an apprentice and worked his way up to the board of the company. The son of J.F. Callaghan, Cirencester jeweller, he joined up on a four year apprenticeship on 5 September 1955. On his qualification in September 1959, the company gave him a pair of engraved gold cuff-links. On 15 September 1962 Callaghan married Mary Taylor in Harrow. The firm gave the couple a silver tea set. The young man was clearly valued by his bosses. He was admitted to the Freedom of the Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers [why not Goldsmiths?] in July of 1964 and a few months later made a Freeman of the City of London. On the 9 October he was elected to the Board of Directors of Hancocks & Co. Two months later his first child – Louise Jane – was born. 1964 had been an exceptional year for David Callaghan. In April 1973 he was elected Honourable Secretary of the London Chamber of Commerce, Diamond, Pearl and Precious Stone section, and then re-elected several times afterwards. [need to complete]
He remained with the company following the merger with Young and Stephens in 1992. David Callaghan retired from Hancocks in January 1998.
Ian Morton
Ian Morton is from the family who ran the venerable Dublin jewellers, John Morton in Nassau Street. They had business ties with Hancocks down the years. He joined Hancocks in the early 1960s.
Premises
In over 170 years in business, Hancocks has occupied four premises in Mayfair, all on or very close to New Bond Street.
This has always been a very fashionable area for luxury goods and bespoke tailoring, a part of town where the wealthy enjoy their shopping to this day.
1849 – 1916
38/39 Bruton Street, 67 years
1916 – 1970
9 Vigo Street/25 Sackville Street, 54 years
1970 – 1998
1 Burlington Gardens, 28 years
1998 – DATE
52/53 Burlington Arcade, 25 years
38/39 Bruton Street (corner of New Bond Street, 1849 -1916)
This premises was sited on the corner of Bruton Street and New Bond Street. Charles Frederick Hancock, 42, set up his brand new enterprise here in 1849 where Hancocks remained until the First World War. It was the company’s home for almost 70 years, its longest stay in one building.
9 Vigo Street (corner of Sackville Street, 1916 – 1970)
Another corner building, this time with Sackville Street. Hancocks moved the business here on 1 January 1916, right in the middle of World War 1. While bombing raids by Zeppelin and Gotha aircraft commenced in 1915, their effect was miniscule compared with the Blitz 25 years later. The premises suffered no damage. On 20 January 1934, the HRB tells us that a burst water main caused an inundation of the premises to the depth of seven inches. On 1 October 1936, having settled all debts to former partners, Hancocks became a limited liability company. When the Blitz did come, the store was once again lucky, although far from unscathed. Between 16 – 23 September 1940, the area was heavily bombed. With the exception of one window on the Sackville Street side, all the others were blown out by explosions nearby. Various businesses in Regent Street, Savile Row, Old Bond Street and Burlington Arcade were destroyed by direct hits. Two unexploded bombs struck the bottom of Sackville Street, closing the business for four days until they could be removed (HRB).
Events took a dramatic turn in 1969 when Hancocks were advised of plans to pull down the building and redevelop. Unsuccessful negotiations dragged on between March and November. But in October the company was offered for £8,000 the option to take over 1 Burlington Gardens including the incumbent business, Messrs Parker, very close by. The Board accepted the deal. (HRB)
1 Burlington Gardens, (corner of Cork Street, 1970 – 1998)
The company closed Vigo Street on 20 February and made ready to move out. A safe was installed at the new premises and the company moved all stock and furniture to Burlington Gardens on 25/26 February. Hancocks opened for business in their new home on 2 March. In April ‘bandit proof’ glass was fitted to all windows of the shop. This was extremely fortuitous because they were twice attacked – 29 June and 2 October – and held fast on both occasions. In October 1971, the new air conditioning was switched on (‘a great blessing, much appreciated’). (HRB)
At the end of 1978, Hancocks took over the expired lease of their immediate neighbour in Cork Street and expanded the shop to the size of their former home in Vigo Street. Without closing for business, they still managed to take the opportunity to give the whole place a makeover, decorating predominently in shades of blue. (article and HRB).
In 1992 Hancocks was subject of a merger with their next-door neighbours, Young & Stephens, also jewellers. Stephen Burton and his family took a controlling interest in the new company which continued to trade under the name Hancocks & Co (Jewellers) Limited. David Callaghan and Ian Morton remained with the company as board directors.
52 and 53 Burlington Arcade (1998 – date)
This highly desirable shopping arcade became the company’s first home not to be located on a street corner. But the advantages of improved security combined with the prestige of the location and quality of passing trade, made this a smart move. The premises were already occupied by another of Stephen Burton’s companies, SJ Roods. It was decided to mothball that business and move Hancocks into the space.
Exhibitions
International exhibitions were all the rage in technology, arts and manufacturing in the mid through late 19 th Century.
Charles Frederick Hancock was very much an established international operator when he founded his own company so it is no surprise that Hancocks were enthusiastic supporters and participants at these trade fairs. The big ones typically lasted from four to six months.
The Great Exhibition, London 1851
The Great Exhibition of 1851, held in London's Hyde Park, was the first international world's fair and a defining event of the Victorian era. Organized by Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, the exhibition showcased a vast array of innovations in industry, technology, and culture from around the world, including remarkable displays of jewellery, fine arts, and craftsmanship. Housed in the iconic Crystal Palace, a massive glass and iron structure designed by Joseph Paxton, the exhibition was a symbol of the British Empire's power and influence, highlighting the achievements of the Industrial Revolution. The exhibition ran from 1 May to 15 October in the enormous glass purpose-built building at Hyde Park, later known at the Crystal Palace, and attracted a staggering six million visitors. The Great Exhibition was important not only for fostering global trade and cultural exchange but also for setting a precedent for future world fairs, marking the beginning of a new era of international collaboration and artistic and technological progress.
This major international trade fair came just two years after the foundation of Hancocks. Hancocks had already held a Royal Warrant from the Queen. With the Prince Consort being the patron, project leader and prime mover behind the event, it was hardly unexpected that the company booked a stand. Other leading London jewellers did so as well, including Garrards and Hancocks’ now great rival, Hunt and Roskell. From the exhibition catalogue we have the detail of what the Hancocks put on show.
Award: Grand Council Medal.
Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1855
This exhibition was mounted with the aim of being even bigger and better than London’s effort from four year’s previously. Running between 15 May and 15 November, it was held in the purpose-built Palais d’Industrie in the Champs Elysee gardens. It attracted 5.2 million visitors. Its patron was the Emperor Napoleon III, a good friend and regular customer of Hancocks.
“…the jewels contributed to the exhibition by M. Hancock, of Bruton-Street, take high rank for their beautiful setting, as well as for their rare brilliancy and variety; and they are of such surpassing costliness and beauty as to need but a word of description. The most valuable is a girdle estimated at £50,000. In the centre is the celebrated blue Hope Diamond, and each side two very rich rubies.” From the Illustrated London News (Vol. 27, No. 752, 14 July 1855, pp. 51–52).
“... the stalls of the great London jewellers and goldsmiths, Storr and Mortimer, and Hancock even from a distance dazzling the eye by the glitter or their wares, and, after the inauguration had taken place, it became one of the most central points of attraction.” Cheltenham Looker On, 19/05/1855.
Award: Medaille d’Honneur.
The Paris Universal Exhibiton 1867.
CF Hancock had stood back from directly running the business the previous year. This exhibition opened on 1 April. Horatio Stewart and Mr Lewns had left some days previously in the wake of 17 cases shipped to France over the previous three weeks. The team was away for over seven months, returning between 4 th and 19 th November. The costs for the entire project, listed in some detail in the HRB, came out at £1,469 14- 10d, or about £92,000 in 2017 (TNA).
The Tennyson Vase and the Goodwood Cup were part of the display.
On 4th May the Hancocks stand (‘case’) was visited by the Emperor Napoleon, who purchased a silver jug, gold collar, bracelet and ring to the value of £1,765, more than the entire cost of the exhibition in one sale. The Tsar of Russia stopped by in late June, having been seen by Hancock and Dore at the Elysee a few weeks previously on the 10th. The day before that these men had also undertook an appointment to see Napoleon III at the Tuilleries.
Award: The Gold and Silver Medals.
The Vienna Exhibition (World’s Fair) 1873.
On 23 April, Horatio Stewart and Mr Lewns left for Vienna. Lewns returned on 6 November while Stewart, (with Mr Vallat) arrived home on the 18th . The men were away for over six months. While there they were joined variously by Williams, Marr, Higgins, Quin [check v staff list]. Unfortunately, unlike Paris 1867, the HRB doesn’t record any of the firm’s stand visitors nor any major sales wins.
Hancocks was the sole recipient of the Emperor’s gold medal for Science and Art along with “the Prize Medal”.
The total cost of the expedition was £2,278, or £142,643 at 2017 equivalent (TNA), substantially more than Paris Universal Exhibition from six years previous.
Award: The Emperor’s Gold Medal for Science and Art.
The War Years
Perhaps one might expect the company with the original and exclusive role in manufacturing the Victoria Cross for more than 150 years to be fairly involved in Britain’s conflicts.
The medal was initiated right at the tail end of the Crimean War with the first awards being announced and pinned on chests retrospecively in 1857. 111 of them.
The next noteworthy conflict came some 10 years later with the Indian Mutiny of 1857/58. It was a bloody and cruel conflict against British-trained Indian troops. 182 VCs were awarded. But from this time until the 2nd Boer War, Britain’s military adventures were minor, unless you were there at the time. The Anglo-Afghan War, Zulu wars, George Gordon and Abyssinia. Some of these are mentioned matter-of-factly in the Hancock Record Book (HRB).
“27 April 1868: News arrived of King Theodore’s death & consequent termination of the Abyssinian War.”
“September 1879 – Zulu war closed – Cettewayo [sic][the king of the Zulus] taken – “
The 2nd Boer War (1899 – 1902, 78 VCs), when it came, is not mentioned in the HRB at all.
It's widely recognised by military historians that the lack of a truly challenging war for over 40 years had caused atrophy in the British war machine, the army in particular. They fell behind in training, weaponry, methodology, virtually all aspects. It was mostly about parades, drills, inspections. Scion of the family, Mortimer Hancock (1844 – 1901), thrived in this environment. A terratorial staff officer, he worked his way up from Ensign in the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) in the mid 1860s to Colonel of his regiment, the 3rd London Volunteer Rifles until his death in July 1901, aged 57.
World War 1.
Family members of Hancocks first properly experienced combat in the World War 1. At least three grandsons of Henry John Dore (1832 – 1895) joined up. On 1 July 1916, 2nd Lt Renie Dore, who had signed up in September 1914 right at the start of the conflict, was killed at Contalmaison. He was in the Machine Gun Corps. His younger brother Donald suffered shell-shock and was gassed at Ypres in September 1917. Clearly he returned to the battlefield because we find that he was ‘severely wounded’ in the head, again at Ypres in late July 1918. The cousin of these unfortunate young men, Gerald Dore, joined the Royal Flying Corps. He was wounded in the foot and leg by machine gun fire in October 1917. He went on to serve in the RAF in WW2 (see below). In December of that year, Trevor Burleigh, son of a member of Hancocks staff, was injured by flying shrapnel, costing him an eye.
We may note that on 1 January 1916, Hancocks vacated their first premises in Bruton Street and moved the business to 25 Sackville Street. Life on the home front could not have been more different from what was to come 24 years later.
628 VCs were awarded in WW1.
World War 2.
In October 1938, the HRB notes that ‘Mr Chamberlain, the Prime Minister, flew to Munich and received a guarantee of Peace from Herr Hitler.’ Less than a year later, on 3 September 1939, the book noted the outbreak of war.
Mr Peter Cushion, a valued member of staff, was called up for duty with the RAF Volunteer Reserve – he was eventually commissioned as a Pilot Officer in December 1940; sadly his Wellington bomber was shot down over Berlin in the Autumn of 1941.
Gerald Dore was instructed to stand by as a part-time volunteer ambulance driver. Mr J A Bourne initially served a month with the Auxiliary Fire Service, and was then put on part-time volunteer duties.
Along with the price of gold and sovereigns, we’re informed that ‘London protected by Guns, seachlights and balloon barrage’, somewhat optimistically one feels. Although in their early 40s, Dore and Bourne both sought ‘proper’ action. Gerald Dore, already a veteran pilot from WW1 re-joined the RAF as a Pilot Officer, Regional Operations, in October 1940. He was promoted to Squadron Leader in December 1944. Bourne joined the Royal Armoured Corps on 14 August 1941; he was commissioned into the Pioneer Corps on 3 February 1943. At the end of the conflict which both men survived, Dore returned to work on 22 October 1945; some weeks later on 1 December Bourne did the same.
How did Hancocks cope with their joint Managing Directors away at the war? The leadership fell to Walter Wixley, chairman since the limited company was formed in 1936, but not involved with the day-to-day business of the firm. In his early 60s at the outbreak of the war, Wixley mothballed his own jewelery business in 1942 and steered Hancocks through the remainder of the conflict. It is telling perhaps, that a Mr Wolfe, who had been appointed General Manager in July of 1941 just before JA Bourne joined the war, left the firm at this point.
The HRB entry ’16-23 September 1940’ – that’s to say the very start of the Blitz – notes heavy bombing in the immediate vicinity of Hancocks’ shop. Business neighbours Gieves & Crighton Bros. of Old Bond Street, also Sandon of Savile Row seemed to have suffered direct hits. Most of Hancocks’ windows were blown out. There were two unexploded bombs in Sackville Street, causing the shop to be closed for four days.
181 VCs were awarded in WW2. We can see a clear trend towards their becoming much more hard-earned.
