Contents

• Part 1: Early Days
• Part 2: Consolidation
• Part 3: Growing Steadily
• Part 4: Post War Reconstruction
• Part 5: At Your Service

Post War Reconstruction

1945 saw the company with two factories – the original, at Sun Street and the top two floors at Ironmonger Row, now freed from wartime manufacture.  A few at a time, the staff began to return: there was a backlog of demand for musical merchandise, but raw materials were hard to come by and equipment destroyed or dismantled during the war had to be replaced or   reassembled.  The newer factory soon embarked on the manufacture of toy xylophones (under the pre-war trade mark of 'VICEROY' – a play on the names of Victor Morris and his, son Roy), together with recorders, the Flutina (a plastic ocarina-type instrument that attained great popularity), pitch-pipes – and even a simple form of mouth-organ.

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Alan Rose, Leslie Rose and Alfredo Frontalini.

A pair of Bongoes from the Edmundo Ros range of Latin-American instruments.

The 'Otavo' – the modern equivalent of the blow-accordion shown on page 8.

Meantime Sun Street resumed manufacture of most of its pre-war products, notably Autocrat drums.  These post-war years saw the beginnings of the company's onslaught on overseas markets, the Woolf brothers making sales journeys to the European countries in the late nineteen-forties and to the USA soon afterwards.  These were pioneer journeys, the forerunners to personal visits by directors of the company to customers the world over.

In 1947 Victor Morris' younger son, Derek joined Rose, Morris as a member of the sales staff.  Meantime, the potential growth of the Australian market became interesting to the directors.  In 1948 Leslie Rose travelled to Australia, there in February, 1948, to set up a new company – Rose, Morris & Co. (Australia) Pty. Ltd, afterwards returning to London.  Locally managed, it was not at first entirely successful; Stanley Rose's elder son, Alan, who had trained as a quantity surveyor, abandoned his profession and after  spending a time in the London business went to Melbourne to take charge of the company there.  RM Australia continued in happy and fruitful association with its London parent for many years; Alan Rose settled in Melbourne and married there.  The Australian company, now under the title of Rose Music Ltd, eventually went its separate way, and is now an independent establishment, though retaining close ties with the London company, sharing with it many important agencies.

The growth of the business had now resumed; with a staff of 40 the company had returned to its former role (although it did not re-enter the gramophone record trade on any significant scale) and prospects were bright.  The directors, however, were not getting younger, and Victor Morris was not in good health; it was felt that the load should be spread.  In September 1950 the Woolf brothers were appointed to the Board.  It was a popular appointment, to customers and staff alike.  William Woolf now spent part of his time indoors, assisting Leslie Rose with the buying.

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The 'Group Explosion'

The next two years were to prove the inconvenience of the company's premises and the disadvantages of being in two buildings.   Larger premises were sought where all departments might be together under one roof.  Eventually a building of some 11,000 square feet (this time on six floors - but with a hydraulic lift!) was found at 83-85 Paul Street, E.C..2 and in 1953, for the first time in nearly twenty years, Rose, Morris & Co., Ltd. operated from a single address.  For its day, the factory was modern and a great deal of new machinery was installed.  The warehouse was spacious, offices adequate and there was a good packing department with a loading bay and crane.  The integration of the two factories led to the gradual abandonment of lines such as toy xylophones, and there was a greater concentration, by the section that had been making them, on metalwork complementary to the growing production of drums: stands, pedals, hoops, fittings and accessories of many kinds.  Here, too, the Dulcet Celesta Chime Bar was born - now an established tool of musical education.

A Shaftesbury electric guitar.

A Conn trombone.

The 'Dulcet' Celesta Chime Bar (made in a wide range of notes).

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There was, in fact, a subtle and gradual change in the company's interests in the nineteen-fifties: a metamorphosis that resulted in the shedding of some lines of unimportant merchandise and the acquisition of a number of valuable agencies for 'prestige' instruments and accessories.  The staff of nearly sixty was fully employed, and warehouse space was soon at a premium once more.

By good fortune the building next door became available and a prompt move secured it for R.M. The twin of the existing building, 79-81 added a further 11,000 square feet (and another lift), and it proved practicable to connect the two at every level so as to operate as one unit.  The factory now had the top two double floors and the warehouse the remainder.  A separate office was provided for the export department and a trade counter set up on the ground floor.  In collaboration with the Forest Products Research Establishment the factory developed a novel method of wood-bending, designing and installing new equipment for the purpose. The results of this installation were made available to the Research Establishment for general use.

1956 opened with the company forging ahead on all fronts.  January, however, brought a sad blow to Rose, Morris and its staff, in the sudden death of Victor Morris. He had been attending business up to the day prior to his death: his passion left a gap in the company and in the Trade.  It is no overstatement to say, that he was regarded with affection by all.

In April, 1956, Roy, Morris was appointed to the Board.  He and the Woolf brothers continued travelling, for the firm, leaving the elder directors to look after the day-to-day running of the business.

79-85 Paul Street, EC2.  The premises are now occupied by a sister company in the Grampian Holdings Group.

The present Board of Directors.
From left to right: Roy Morris, Maurice Woolf, Michael Berman, Derek Morris.  Seated, the Chairman, William Woolf.

The late A V Morris.

The following year saw the escalation of demand for guitars and drums: never before had there been such a peak.  Just as the company had been established in the birth-year of jazz, so now it was in an enviable position to meet the enormous demands for instruments that arose from the growth of groups.  Rock and-Roll, Skiffle and associated new musical trends were performed by small groups of players, combining drums with guitars - new groups mushroomed overnight: some became famous, others coalesced into new formations, a few faded out.  Drums and guitars, guitars and drums - the new, enlarged warehouse was choked with them and the factory worked all hours in an endeavour to keep production in step with demand.  These were predominantly acoustic guitars - the amplification boom was to come

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later – and, in the main, inexpensive models.  Nevertheless, their sale undoubtedly bred an interest in music among their enthusiastic (but not necessarily skilled) purchasers, as witness the demand for high quality instruments in later years, and the resurgence of correct musical form in the popular music of today.  Successive years continued the pattern of 1957, with peak demands for 'group' instruments super-imposed upon a steady and slowly rising demand for musical merchandise of all kinds.  The factory was forever improving its products and developing new lines, especially in the field of musical education;

One of the RM Drum Outfits for the nineteen-seventies.

importations of merchandise from the established sources of musical manufacture in all parts of the globe had reached a record level, while agencies had been arranged for many items of British manufacture, usually on a 'sole sale' basis.  The demands of the business, present and foreseen, led to diversion of William Woolf and Roy Morris more and more towards indoor activities, the former to understudy Stanley Rose in the overall control of the company and the latter, from April 1959, to learn from Leslie Rose the intricacies of buying.  A Nathan was moved from the factory office to take overall charge of the company's clerical staff under Mrs Freeman, the Company Secretary.  Additional outdoor representatives had been engaged, and subsequent events have proved the wisdom of the planned changes.  Notable among the company's representatives are John Higgins Tierney and Gerald Ivan Kennedy, the latter succeeding the late Denis Forsythe who died in the company's service.

The salesmen – a picture taken at the 1969 Trade Exhibition in London.
From left to right:
Gerald Kennedy, Tony Morris, William Woolf,
Derek Morris, Michael Berman, Alan Seymour,
Maurice Woolf, Jack Tierney.

A New Association

The leaping stag, symbol of Grampian Holdings Limited

A modern John Grey folk Banjo (Note the Head-
Master plastic head – impervious to climatic changes.)

In August 1960, the shares of Rose, Morris & Co., Ltd were acquired by Grampian Holdings Limited, a Scottish based holding company with interests in a wide range of commercial and industrial activities (not previously, including musical merchandise).  Leslie Rose decided to retire at that time: leaving the company after  more than forty years devotion to its well-being and the welfare of its staff, he has since engaged in charitable work although, unfortunately, his health has been sometimes not of the best.  Stanley Rose remained with the company, at first as Chairman and subsequently in the capacity of consultant.

With this, the first break from direction of the business by its founders, it was natural that fears should be expressed. Both within and outside Rose, Morris, that the policies and methods of the company might change.  Here was a mammoth holding company, with no experience of the musical instrument trade (which has, as even its friends will agree, some A picture taken in December, 1963, at the retirement party given for Mrs Freeman and Joe Platt.
From left to right: Roy Morris, Clara Freeman,Stanley Rose, William Woolf, Leslie Rose, Joseph Platt, Maurice Woolf.peculiarities!), in control of an old-established family business which had built its reputation on a friendly, personal relationship with its suppliers and its customers: would RM now become yet another machine-like organisation, impersonal, rigid, unfriendly?  Happily, the parent company in its wisdom did not interfere with the conduct of the business.  While its resources and experience proved valuable to Rose, Morris on many occasions since the acquisition, the association has proved to be a happy one in other respects, too: the directors and staff have been permitted to get on with the jobs they know so well, and the outcome has been a new Rose, Morris & Co., Ltd so closely akin to the original that the traditions and methods of the firm have been retained, almost intact.

On March 28th, 1963, Stanley Rose took the Chair at a Board Meeting for the last time.  While remaining a director, he handed over the Chair to William Woolf.  The new Chairman took the opportunity to express to Mr Rose the company's thanks and admiration for his past chairmanship, paying tribute to his assiduous attention to his duties even at times when he was not in the best of health.  On December 31st 1963, Mrs Freeman, Company Secretary, for 43 years, retired from the service of the company, the position of Secretary passing to Mr Nathan.