Retiring Rushden shoe craftsmen clock up 95 years' service

Garry Wright (right) and Martin Nicholson (left) have notched up 95 years' service between them

Two shoe craftsmen will hang up their shoe lasts for the final time when they retire after a combined 95 years' service.

Gary Wright got a job with Sanders and Sanders in Rushden, Northamptonshire when he answered a job advert in 1976.

Martin Nicholson will also leave the 150-year-old company after clocking up 48 years.

Mr Wright said he was particularly proud that the firm supplied shoes for the Royal Horseguards.

He added that one of his first jobs in retirement would be to meet his a newly-discovered sister in America for the first time.

Sander Bros, as the company was originally known, was set up in 1873 by William and Thomas Sanders, who were brothers from Rushden.

They started with five craftsmen in a workshop in the centre of of the town.

The firm outgrew its premises and moved to its present site, Spencer Road, in 1912 - with 70 craftsmen.

A fire in 1924 devastated the factory, but it was rebuilt and now produces more than 2,000 pairs of shoes and boots every week.

The company makes shoes and boots for the Household Cavalry

Mr Wright said he had ambitions to join the police but he was rejected because of a lazy eye.

He answered a Sanders job advert in 1976 and turned up at the factory wearing a suit - and was employed on the spot.

The present Sanders factory was built in the 1920s after a disastrous fire

His role in the operation had been looking after health and safety, "everything from ear protection, to fire regulations and machine guards" and quality management, he said.

One job took him to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in London.

He said: "We do MOD shoes and boots for the Horseguards, and I was sitting in when the Queen's procession came through Horse Guard's and I was just about a stone's throw away from the Queen's carriage and I thought: 'this is my accolade'."

Mr Wright already has plans for his retirement, including spending more time with a community radio station.

He added: "Since I've recently discovered I've got a sister in America, through a DNA test, I'm going out to see her for the first time at the end of January."