My mother Jesse Wicks worked for a clothing manufacturer in Aldgate East during WW11. She always said she had worked for a company which she called 'Lottries'. This may or may not be the correct name or it may even be a nickname. She was a tailoress and spent her war years working there making uniforms and greatcoats for the armed forces.
Mum always said that the company was Jewish owned and how good a firm it was to work for. This probably is why we grew up eating a fair amount of Jewish fare. I can find no trace of a company of that name and wondered if anyone had a record of that firm or knew where I could find some.
Yours in anticipation
John Potter
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Here is one reader's helpful response:
Dear John Potter.
I have just come across your request in a recent issue of the Cable and I remember my two late Aunts Hannah Pampel and Jenny Harris worked for the above company before and into WW2. It was a large and old established company making uniforms and they were in the gold braid department.
I also mentioned this to my sister in law Doris Pampel (nee Freedman) the other day and she was even apprenticed there and is now 96 with a fantastic memory. She thinks it was just off Middlesex Street but is not sure whether it still exists today.
I would suggest The Bishopsgate Institute could no doubt provide you with all the information you require. Their phone no is 02073929270 - email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Yours sincerely
Norman Pampel
And Perdita Jones, Heritage Officer – Learning and Participation at Tower Hamlets, told us: “I’ve had a look at our 1943 trade directory and found H. Lotery & Co. Ltd., a clothing manufacturer, located in Beaumont House, Gravel Lane, E1 – just north of Aldgate Station. We’ll have detailed OS maps of the area from around that period, but I‘m afraid that I can’t find any other material specifically about the factory.”