One of the more unusual emails we have had was from Dr Sean Kinnear, a researcher looking into Cold War Nuclear Bunkers. He contacted the Co-op Archive to let us know that he had found a bread wrapper in a bunker in Scotland while when working on a project.

Bread wrapper found in the Nuclear bunker

Bunking off

Scotland’s Secret Bunker, now a well-known Cold War museum and attraction near St Andrews on Scotland’s east coast, operated in top-secrecy for 40 years. Initially constructed in the early 1950s as a vital part of Britain’s air defence, the site functioned as an RAF radar station, temporarily assumed the role as a civil defence HQ and finally served as the Northern Zone Control for the Scottish Office.

From 1960 the bunker was assigned unique high-level administrative machinery that could coordinate the country’s recovery and reconstruction in the event of a Soviet nuclear attack. During the bunker’s active status hundreds of RAF and military personnel, civilian contractors and government staff from all over Britain came and went from the classified site leaving only small (and hidden) traces of their historical presence.

Although the facility has been declassified and open to the public for 30 years there had never been a comprehensive survey of the restricted service zones. The survey by Dr Kinnear included a detailed exploration of the storage spaces beneath the specially engineered teak floor system.

Bunker where the wrapper was found. image courtesy of Dr Sean Kinnear

Within one of these dark, claustrophobic spaces, accessed by a single timber trapdoor, the Co-op pan loaf wrapper was found wedged between a set of steel lockers leftover from the bunker’s active Cold War operations. While the wax paper wrapper was tightly scrunched into a ball upon discovery - completely untouched for decades - the distinctive Co-op branding was instantly recognisable. 

The logo used is a dark grey image with the two ‘o’s’ of co-op entwined like a chain. This was introduced in the late 1940s and was before the more familiar blue cloverleaf logo of the Co-op which was introduced in 1968 when the CWS commenced “Operation Facelift” and rebranded goods with the famous cloverleaf Co-op logo for continuity. This was reintroduced in 2016 and is found throughout the group's various businesses, including food stores and other services.

Chain, chain, chain

Working independently but supported by the Co-operative Unions and the Co-operative Wholesale Society, early Co-op shops would have branding specific to their store, but certain symbols used by the co-op movement would be commonplace, both on the branding and sometime on the building itself. This included the beehive and the Wheatsheaf reinforcing that co-operatives are stronger together. The famous wheatsheaf image with the Labor and Wait slogan sports the American spelling.  This was to show support for the fight against slavery in America.

     

Co-ops traded independently with support from the Co-op Union (now Co-operatives UK)  but in order to get a fair deal on unadulterated goods, they could also be members of the 'North of England Co-operative Wholesale Industrial and Provident Society Limited' - later Co-operative Wholesale Society. Co-ops could use other suppliers and stock well known brand labels, but the CWS could only sell to other co-operatives. A catalogue of stamps in the archive collections from 1939 advertise small printing blocks so smaller co-ops could brand their CWS goods. These included use of the two joined oo's.

Small blocks log book from 1939

As the number of co-operative societies grew, more consistent branding was recommended that shoppers could recognize co-op made products in store.  A pamphlet in the archive describes the introduction of the chain logo in branding.

 

Images of logos used by the Co-op Movement throughout the years can be found on Co-op Group’s Flickr pages.

For more information on our collections and how to book in to the archive reading room, please look at our web pages.

 All images from the Co-op Archives unless otherwise noted.