Scottish Co-operative Discovery Centre

We've a timeline up in West Calder Scotmid to celebrate 150 years of West Calder Co-operative Society. A lot of the customers remember it well before it became part of Scotmid in the 80s. It was one of the largest regional co-ops in Scotland. A great way to put names to the faces in the photographs.

1975- West Calder Co-op show off their tiny TVs. You could buy a bagged up Mr Man along with your transistor radios and calculators.

Summer seaside fun for the West Calder Co-op Society -1949.

We are delighted to be hosting The Co band for our 150th Jubilee concert to help us celebrate 150 years of West Calder Co-operative Society.
You can get tickets online now on the link below.
www.trybooking.com/uk/events/la...
The Concert is at West Calder High School on Friday 20th June from 6.30pm.

#NationalTeaDay Where do you buy your tea? In the 1920s many in Stirling would have bought their tea from the Co-operative Society.

This image shows the interior of the Co-operative at Causewayhead in the 1920s.

📷 Courtesy of The Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum.

Heinz promotion to win a Mini at the Leith Provident Co-operative, North Fort Street c 1965.
Photo courtesy of The Living Memory Museum, Leith.

Broxburn Co-ops Fleshing Department's award winning gala day float. There's a lot going on in this photo - from a sheep's head in the basket to the monkey on the front of the van. Not one for the squeamish or the vegetarians

Let's celebrate Autism Awareness day. Here at the Scottish Co-operative Discovery Centre Project we have been lucky to work with partners such as Autism Scotland and Carers of West Lothian so that autistic people have had input into the design and development of our project from the start.

1970s divi stamp milk delivery promotion in Pumpherston West Lothian. Featuring Gerry Pickett the milkman and Co-op promo girl Cathy Carroll

The former Co-operative Store at Albany Gate, Glenrothes. Pic: zitozza

A queue inside the co-op in Stoneyburn sometime in the 1950s. Well turned out ladies with their headscarves and a good thick long coat.

Good to see Co-operative trousers could give pleasure, profit and comfort to a peer of the realm. As featured in The Co-operator 1890.

Empire Retold: Glasgow’s 1938 Empire Exhibition in Augmented Reality Participate in a creative workshop to share your stories and perspectives of Glasgow’s 1938 Empire Exhibition and receive a voucher.

A few spaces left on the upcoming workshop "Empire Retold: Glasgow’s 1938 Empire Exhibition in Augmented Reality" - sign up here:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/empire-ret...

2 part workshop: Monday 3rd and 17th March.

Bo'ness Co-op promotional shots c 1971. The idea seemed to be leave cute kids in a trolley beside the SCWS tinned goods and catch the shoppers reactions.

Broxburn Co-op Furnishing Department van all fancied up for the Gala day parade. c 1930s Photo courtesy West Lothian Council

RP Postcard, shop interior, Scottish Cooperative store, unidentified location
#socialhistory
#postcard
#retail
#shopinterior
#oldpostcard
#coop

No idea, but it's a great image. We love a co-op staff inside/outside photos.

The SCWS advertising department liked a play on words when it came to naming their products. Here we have Rubitof - the cleaner- for everything but clothes.

A sepia photograph of the inside of a hardware store from the 1900's. There long wooden counter top has 4 large copper pans and large cast iron pot. Behind the counter are tall display shelves and cabinets filled with glass oil lamp shade and crockery.

Stepping back in time to the 1900's and a look inside the Co-op Stores Hardware department at the Beamish living museum. #SocialHistory

#FSPrintMonday #ShareMondays2025 #POTD #ThePhotoHour #BNWPhotography

West Calder staff dance c 1973. It took us a while to work out who the special guests were. It's two of The Wombles. Remarkable costume work.

As it's National Pie Day in the US we are using it as an excuse to post our favourite bakery line up. West Calder Co-op Society, Addiewell bakery 1898. Addiewell was a new town established in the 1860s to house the workers of 'Paraffin' Young's chemical works. The floury footprints make this photo.

United Co-operative Baking Society supplied the bread and baked goods needs for a lot of the Glasgow Co-operative Societies. Before protein for fitness there were carbs. This was part of the post war healthy eating and fitness campaigns.

Photograph of a group of young boys, most wearing cloth flat caps, marching down the street. Some are carrying homemade banners and several are wearing sashes with 'LCTU' (London Carmen's Trade Union) written on them. A man in a suit, cloth cap and neckerchief is pointing the way for them. A small crowd is watching. The photo was taken in 1911 in London during a series of strikes in the capital (and elsewhere in the UK) including of strikes of transport and dock workers.

A burst of energy from a damaged image

Young boys in 1911 London, playing at trade unionists, complete with their own London Carmen's Trade Union sashes and homemade banners / flags. Cloth caps on almost every head and, in at least one case, no shoes

[from mrc-describe.epexio.com/records/RTO/... ]

Bo'ness Co-operative Society float for a Bo'ness Infirmary Pageant. Advertising both the ethos of co-operation and co-operative goods.

From the days when you rented your telly from the store

Happy New Year!
2025 is the UN's International Year of Co-operatives- 'Co-operatives Build a Better World'. It's also our own West Calder Co-operative Society's sesquicentennial. So we'll raise a glass to a year of co-operative celebrations. Photo- West Calder Co-op staff c 1971

The scaffolding is going up! The building works are starting in January. We are super excited to see the works starting at last after a lot of hard work. The Scottish Co-operative Discovery Centre is aiming to be open in 2026.

Looks chilly outside the Alva Co-operative Bazaar Society. Alva Bazaar was formed in 1845. After over 120 years of independent trading it merged with Alloa Co-operative Society in 1968 to form Alloa and District.

First of an occasional series of staff outside co-ops photos. Usually they are showing off their splendid window displays. Here are the staff of Cambusnethan and Newmains Co-operative Society Est 1885, merged first with Wishaw 1955, and then Dalziel 1971. From 1981 part of the Scotmid group.

In the days before the NHS community ambulances were commonplace. In 1903 West Calder Co-op Society paid to provide an Ambulance Waggon for the use of their members. It was used regularly as the locality had 3 mines and the nearest hospital was the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh. Courtesy of AVHT