55 Years Ago

What were we doing when England men's football last won a major tournament?

Here is Richard delivering fish into Billingsgate in 1969. Richard appears at around 1 minutes 25 seconds, standing in the back of a truck wearing a green jumper.

In the late 60s, he was transporting herring into Lowestoft market. He saw a market for it, and took the initiative. Alongside fish, he was shipping oysters all over the country in sacks or packed in wooden boxes, sent on trains or the back of fruit and veg trucks.

By the late 70s, Richard was shipping fish all across the UK and into Europe. By that time around twenty boats were bringing fish into him, and he’d send huge amounts of Grey mullet, as well as bass, herring, and sprat, into London’s Billingsgate market, whilst tonnes of small Dover soles were sent over to Holland, with my father often delivering them there himself. I remember as a child in the 80s being woken up in the night and travelling to Billingsgate with my father to deliver fish ready for the early morning market. 

The 90s were tough, and oyster stocks were severely depleted in the River. But Richard and a few other oystermen continued to work the ground, ensuring they could work with nature and enable the conditions to be right for oysters to spat. 

The wild rock oyster, initially introduced into British waters in the 60s, now thrives in the waters where we farm and cultivate our oysters. 

Whilst the years continue to tick by, the essence of what we do, and love, never changes, and that is why we are proud of our legacy, and the oyster we produce for you to enjoy.