Description:Mr Herbert Kynaston aged 67 years old, is pictured at work at the Crabbery Street butchers shop where he had worked for fifty years.
Mr Kynaston was born at Wem, Shropshire, and was apprenticed to a butcher there at the age of 14. He told the Newsletter that in those days he remembered driving cattle ten miles from Shrewsbury market to Wem. He said there were no motor cars and even carrier bicycles had not come in. He came to Stafford at the age of 17 for Mr Sam Yates, whose butchery shop in Crabbery Street was much larger then and was called “Crabbery House”. Mr Kynaston lived there until his marriage. When Mr Yates died, his daughter, Miss Dora Yates took over and later Mr W Jervis of Stone acquired the business.
As a butcher Mr Kynaston was what used to be called “a man all through”, meaning that he could slaughter and deal with “make ups”, sausages and lard, etc. It was not until he came to Stafford in 1905 that he used an ice-box and then it was many years before refrigerators came into being. He said that beasts were killed and eaten next day, but people ate much more in those days. He believed in getting up early at 6am and not indulging too much. In his youth he worked from 6am to 7.30pm, or even to 9pm or 10pm on Saturdays. There were no half-days and Sunday was not always free.
Mr Kynaston lived in Cambridge Street, Stafford; he was a widower and had one daughter. He was for several years a Churchwarden at St. John’s Church, but later attended St. Mary’s Church. He served in the First World War and was disabled at Kemmel in 1917.
This photograph was published in the Staffordshire Newsletter on Saturday 15 October 1955. Reproduced by kind permission of the Staffordshire Newsletter who retain copyright.