Fond memories of the Portsea Island Co-op | Nostalgia

Southern Co-op – originally Portsea Island Mutual Co-operative Society Ltd – was formed in 1873 by dockyard workers who had transferred from Woolwich docks in east London to Portsmouth dockyard.
By Deborah Croker
Published 5th Nov 2021, 15:31 BST
Crowds gather outside the Portsea Island Co-op building at Fratton for the store's 1935 Radio Exhibition.Crowds gather outside the Portsea Island Co-op building at Fratton for the store's 1935 Radio Exhibition.
Crowds gather outside the Portsea Island Co-op building at Fratton for the store's 1935 Radio Exhibition.

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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After five months, the Portsea Island Mutual Co-operative Society's first shop opened in Charles Street on May 9, 1873.

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