Fond memories of the Portsea Island Co-op | Nostalgia
![Crowds gather outside the Portsea Island Co-op building at Fratton for the store's 1935 Radio Exhibition.](https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOmEwZGFlMzY4LWQxOGQtNDYzYi04MjEzLTNhMjZmNDdlMWFiODo3Mzk1ZGE3NC1hMDZiLTQ3NmUtYjczMi00ZGE0MWVkYTc5ODM=.jpg?crop=3:2,smart&width=640&quality=65&enable=upscale)
![Crowds gather outside the Portsea Island Co-op building at Fratton for the store's 1935 Radio Exhibition.](/img/placeholder.png)
The workers had previously set up a successful Co-operative Society in Woolwich. When they arrived in Portsmouth they decided to replicate a similar set-up here.
In December 1872, 30 people attended a public meeting and unanimously agreed to pay one shilling (12 old pence) for the establishment of a local co-operative.
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Hide AdAfter five months, the Portsea Island Mutual Co-operative Society's first shop opened in Charles Street on May 9, 1873.
A message from the editor, Mark Waldron.
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