History: The Thirties
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Sales peaked in 1926. slumped, recovered by 1932 but then dropped off again and took yet another three years to get back, such was the boom/slump style of those years. But by now G R Barrett and Son had another string to their bow. This was brought about by John's interest in wireless (he had been an enthusiastic radio ham with the callsign 2JW since 1920) and the purchase in 1931 of 28/29 St Peters Street, next door to the motor business at No 30.
The garage business was now employing over 75 members of staff and a 24 page booklet was produced entitled "Service for all Motorists". Not only did this contain a great deal of lavish self advertisement but it included everyday hints for the motorist - such as:
It is interesting to note that 65 years later it is not possible to do any of these things with a modern car, even if one wanted to! George's twenty-one year old second son, Reg, joined the business in 1933, forcing another name change to G R Barrett and Sons. The first grandsons were also born at this time - Geoffrey to John and Violet in 1932, and Douglas to Reg and Honey in 1935. After 1932 sales (and profits) steadily improved in all departments with cars growing even faster than the rest, but seldom being more than half of the companys total sales. |
This property was converted into a new shop from which gramophones, radiograms and radios were sold together with all the accessories that went with them, including records. Toys, particularly Trix and Hornby trains, were also sold and the bicycle shop (which was always George's greatest interest) was also now in these premises. This meant that Barretts were now retailing and servicing the two most advanced technologies available to the man in the street - the internal combustion engine and radio. 
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