Gosport baker retires from town shop after working there almost half her life

Anne Mitchell, who was most recently working as a baker at The Co-operative Food in Palmyra Road, Elson, has retired aged 66 after she first started within the business at 33 years old.

Having worked through three decades of retail, Anne said the secret is to have a ‘good laugh'.

Anne said: ‘You need to have a good sense of humour. The last few years have been quite hard for everybody but you just do what you have to do.’

During her time with Southern Co-op, she has worked as a customer service assistant, night crew, a deputy manager, helped initiate trainees to the business and worked in the bakery.

She joined the independent, regional co-operative in 1989 working at its Gosport superstore before it turned into the discount supermarket Buy-Lo.

One of her favourite memories is when she learnt how to drive a forklift.

She said: ‘I loved it. I remember once one of our lorry delivery drivers turned up and couldn't get the tail lift to work. To save time, I got the forklift and got all of the cages off one by one. Where there's a will, there's a way.’

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Anne was born in Devon and moved to Portsmouth then Gosport in the 70s after marrying her husband Andrew, who was a sailor.

She already has plans to do more knitting now she has retired and use her free bus pass to travel across the south coast.

Simon Wright, store manager, said: ‘Anne has been working with me on and off for the last 18 years in different stores and in various job roles. She was in fact the first person who trained me when I joined the society.

‘She is hardworking, with a wicked sense of humour; nothing is ever too much for her to the point that she gets to know each and every delivery driver by name. She loves her knitting and there isn't a colleague that has a child that doesn't have a cardigan knitted by Anne. She will be sorely missed.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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