We are very pleased to add another personal recollection of working at the Pedigree factory in Canterbury. This one is from Paul Santer, Pedigree’s Personnel Manager.
We actively searched for Paul because in talking to both Barbara and Tom, quite independently both were saying the same things. That it was a happy place to work, they had good working conditions, they were a talented workforce, and there were opportunities for a bit of fun. Looking more widely across social media, there were odd snippets here and there of Pedigree being an employer of choice and that they paid well.
These consistent accolades don’t come about by chance, they are most often rooted in the organisation itself. Luckily for us Paul was open to talking about his days at Pedigree, and contributed both his time and his knowledge about the personnel policies of the factory.
We are delighted to now know more about the factory and how it worked with its people, how they recruited, what the training and working conditions were like, and interestingly yet again how Mr Ken Edey, their Managing Director, was such a guiding force.
It’s another lovely personal recollection which adds to the rich history that sits behind our collections, adding to our appreciation and knowledge of the Pedigree Sindy doll.
We are very grateful for the effort Paul has put into his story so that it won’t be forgotten.
Thank you also to Trevor Enefer, a Minic collector and archivist, who helped us to understand the early days of the Market Way factory and who supplied the lovely photo of the “The Home of Pedigree Dolls”. Thank you also to the Canterbury office of the Kentish Express who gave permission to use a couple of vintage adverts for Paul’s story. Kenneth D Brown’s book ‘A History of Tri-ang and Lines Brothers Ltd’ (2022) was also incredibly helpful in understanding the situation at Pedigree in the run-up as to why they needed a new personnel manager.
You will see that the museum has been slightly reorganised to gather all the Pedigree Factory stories from Barbara, Paul and Tom plus the brochures to create a little historical section.
