Bill Underwood shares with us some memories of his father's hairdresser's shop (Underwoods).

Father opened up the shop in Sheep Street in November 1913 when he was sixteen. His mother had put up the money to rent it and on the first day he waited for a customer.

He spotted a friend coming down the road towards the shop and thought he would have a joke on him. There was only a cold water tap and a bucket in the shop at that time and he filled a sponge with cold water and waited in the corner. As the door opened he threw the wet sponge at a stranger who had come up from the other side and entered ahead of his friend!

Father learnt his trade as an apprentice with Walt Knott in Sidmouth Street, you can still see his name up on the wall by his old shop today, 'W.A.Knott, Tobacconist'.

My brothers and I all worked in the shop from quite an early age. We would start as lather boys at twelve years of age, lathering up the men for shaves. Father would shave them as they were ready and then we sponged them off and I took the money.

The very first customer I lathered up was Gerry Ruddle, who was one of the leading firemen; he and Jack Webb were heroes of all the small lads in the town. It cost tuppence for a shave and as I finished wiping him off he gave me the money and I said thank you very much and put it in my pocket. I told my dad that he was very kind and had given me tuppence and he said, "That's not for you, it's for the shave, put it in the till!"

Lots of men came in for a shave every day, but some only once a week. The old farm labourers came in on Thursdays or Saturdays. There was an old Irish labourer called Paddy who worked for Gilbert at Hartmoor and came in for a shave once a week and once every six months he had a haircut. He had it all shaved off right over, that was usually our job when we were boys since it didn't require any skill. Several people had this done.

My father worked long hours to keep our large family. He worked until eight at night, but closed at six during the War.

Before he opened up in the morning he went to the hospital and shaved all the patients, then he visited all the 'specials' that were shaved in their homes, including Frank Chivers the builder. He didn't close for lunch but grabbed something to eat while the lather boys were getting the next customers ready. He opened for shaves on Sunday mornings too. He worked very hard.

One of many 'hair-raising' experiences at Underwoods in Sheep Street. Bill Underwood cuts his brother David's hair at the old shop in c. 1950. Bill, and his father before him, often entertained the customers while cutting their hair.

From: Devizes Voices compiled by David Buxton Tempus Publishing ISBN 0 7524 0661 2 £9.99 For a complete list of local history books published by Tempus Publishing visit: www.tempus-publishing.com