TADS memories
Visit to Burberry's archives 2007
On Tuesday 29 May 2007, 29 TADS members Ian, Carol, Derek and Bob together with two non-members, took up the offer from David Quelch, a director of Burberry's Ltd of London, to show a party from TADS around the archives and collections currently housed in the basement of St Albans House, (opposite the Haymarket shop) in London.
David had prepared a short talk on the history of Burberry's and showed us many of the artefacts etc that he has accumulated in the short time he has been involved with this side of the business. We then exchanged various cuttings, etc. which we had accumulated from the Basingstoke Gazette on Burberry's and Major G I Roller of Tadley, a close friend of Thomas Burberry and one of the two illustrators that Burberry's used to draw their advertisements. We identified many more drawings in the archives through Roller's "scrawled" signature.
David had requested that we bring with us the book The Story of the 34th Company (Middlesex) Imperial Yeomanry by William Connor, published in 1902, detailing Sgt-Major Roller and his mare Gaberdine during various operations in the Boer War. Derek had copied the relevant bits for David before hand.
After spending almost two hours with David, Bob asked if we could visit one of the stores. Three of us then walked through Piccadilly Circus and along Regent Street to number 157, where Burberry's have a large store. Needless to say no one purchased anything!!
Page updated: Wednesday 5 November 2014.
Review date: 1 December 2014.