The Evening Echo of 22 March 1978 reported the imminent closure of the firm of Marks and Sons, a poultry buying business in the Nevendon Road. At its peak the firm handled 20,000 birds a week supplying the catering trade in the surrounding area and London. For nearly 50 years, Mr. Maurice Marks (74) had run the company with his sons, Leonard and Alan. Mr Marks had compiled plans to meet new regulations of the European Economic Community (EEC), but these were turned down by Basildon Council because the Nevendon Road was categorised as a residential area. There was concern that some smaller poultry farmers in the area would go out of business because they would have to accept lower prices from other dealers.
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Lovely to read. I thought I was the only one who remembered the Nevendon Rd place. Went to school with Sandra Legge.
My mother-in-law worked at Poll Pak. My husband said that when she came home she was always covered in feathers.
He estimates it would have been maybe 1950s.
When I lived down the end of Oakhurst Drive I do remember Alan and Helen Marks, John Kershaw, Alan Tilson, Peter Northwood, and who could forget the Legg (?) brothers, Billy and Doody, from Bromfords Drive, and of course my great mate Ray Olley.
Can anybody tell me what happened to the Poll Paks that was where Barclays Bank is today in Market Rd? On the way to school we watched the women using machines to pluck the feathers off of chickens. We used to jeer at the women and say they were cruel but when Mum dished up a chicken for dinner we did not jeer then.
I went to school with a Helen Marks who was part of the Marks family. What happened to her?
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