‘One of a form’ Granny Dot gambled £6k to construct a £70m empire dies
A 102-year-old woman who took a £6k gamble and turned it into a multi-million pound empire has died. Tributes have been flooding in for “one of a kind” great-grandmother Dorothy Edwards, affectionately known as “Granny Dot”, who was crucial to the establishment of Harlech Foodservice after she supported her family with a significant loan over 50 years ago.
In 1972, Dorothy and her husband Harry provided £6,000 – equivalent to around £100,000 in today’s currency – enabling their daughter Gill and son-in-law Colin Foskett to acquire a frozen food shop and wholesale business in Harlech.
This brave decision laid the foundations for the family-run venture that now employs 300 people and supplies pubs, restaurants, schools and hospitals across Wales, the North West, Shropshire and the Midlands.
Paying tribute, her family characterised Dorothy, who passed away on March 28 at the age of 102, as “one of a kind” who led a “long and beautiful life”. She leaves behind a lasting legacy through both her family and the company.
Her grandson Andrew, the firm’s joint chairman, described the loan in 1972 as “life-changing”, stating: “Without my grandmother, Harlech Foodservice would simply not exist.”, reports Wales Online.
“The circumstances were there, the opportunity came along and the rest is history. Giving that money was a gamble, but I remember grandad’s comment to my dad Colin, he said ‘if it doesn’t work out, it’s not for the want of trying’.
“So they backed them knowing they would have the ability to make a go of it. They could see the business had lots of potential. Dorothy and Harry must have raised the £6,000 from money from their family business, Harry Edwards and Sons funeral directors.”
Andrew revealed that his grandmother’s connection to the enterprise extended well beyond the original investment, as she remained actively interested. “They [Dorothy and Harry] would visit the business quite often, it wouldn’t be unusual for staff to see them at the business,” Andrew said.
“Dorothy would still follow Harlech on their Facebook page in her later years, she took an ongoing interest in it. She was over the moon about the success of the business and that the family still owns the business and we still run the business.
“The family-run ethos still runs through the business and now we employ 300 people and have an annual turnover of about £70 million. Dorothy and Harry knew the Harlech area because they were one of the first customers in the 1960s of the Islawffordd caravan site at Dyffryn. Mum and dad bought the food and retail wholesale business in Harlech from dad’s brother Bob and his wife Beryl.
“Bob and Beryl went on to found Magna Specialist Confectioners, who are based in Stafford Park in Telford.” According to Andrew, his grandmother was constantly brimming with joy and merriment: “She quite often would tell stories but laugh so much it was difficult for her to complete the story, especially when her daughters were around because they would be laughing so much,” he shared.
“The stories were often never completed because of the hysterical outbursts.”
Mrs Edwards was born in 1923 in Shrewsbury to William and Priscilla Fenn, with the family moving to Wellington in 1931 due to William’s railway work. She went to Constitution Hill School and left her studies at 14 to work as an assistant at a posh ladies’ clothing shop on Church Street, Wellington. She met Harry through her tight bond with his sister Phyllis, and their first date was at a funfair.
During the Second World War, she produced Spitfire parts at Joseph Sankey and Sons in Hadley. Meanwhile, Harry worked as an Army gunner throughout the conflict and was stationed in Greece. They subsequently married in 1945 at New Street Methodist Church in Wellington.
Andrew said: “Prior to that, Dorothy had not seen Harry for three years because of the war. As Harry was coming back from the war, he sent a telegram asking Dorothy to arrange the wedding for when he got back. They had six children, Gillian, Jennifer, Janet, Robert, Elizabeth and Susan.
“Harry worked in the family business, Harry Edwards and Sons funeral directors and joiners, after the war and eventually he bought both his brothers Tom and Frank out of the business in 1979. Dorothy worked in the business and she used to help Harry recover people that had passed away any time day or night.
“Harry retired in 1989 and that was when they sold the business. They moved to Ringers Way in Admaston and they cared for Dorothy’s mother Priscilla who lived with them before Priscilla passed away in 1993 at the age of 98.
“In 1997 they bought a bungalow in Elmsdale Crescent in Admaston and Harry and Dorothy set about putting their stamp on the place, it needed a bit of work doing to it. Harry of course being a joiner set about making it their own home.
“Dorothy was a very good dressmaker and was interested in craftmaking, she used to do dressmaking for other people, even into her later years. Harry passed away in 2003 at the age of 82 and Dorothy lived in the house until she was 98.
“Her two daughters Elizabeth and Susan were also living in the village so they were always in and out to look after her. Dorothy then moved in with Susan who cared for her until she passed away.”
Dorothy leaves behind her grandchildren Jonathan, Andrew, Laura, Joshua and Molly Rose.She also lea ves great-grandchildren Toby, Hari, Charlie, Ella, Mili, Maisie, Joel, Nancy, Eden and Dorothy.
A service honouring Mrs Edwards’s life is scheduled for Friday, May 1 at 2.30pm at Telford Crematorium, with donations kindly requested for the Midlands Air Ambulance.
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