The Thornton's chocolate empire
started as a small sweet shop in Sheffield in 1911. Travelling confectioner
Joseph Thornton opened up a sweet shop and asked his sons Stanley and Norman to
“make this the best sweet shop in town.” It became a multi-million pound giant
thanks to his sons. Here I am at the grave where Stanley's ashes are interred (I've
haven't found out where Norman is yet.)
Joseph died in 1919 (Stanley was just 16) and
never witnessed the real-life Willy Wonka Chocolate empire
his sons built up over the next few decades. It was a glittering success story
despite the friction created by their two personalities. Stanley was the
younger one who studied food science at Sheffield University and went onto look
after the manufacturing side of the company. Norman ran the glossier sales/front
end of the business. Rather than split up they tolerated the other's strengths
and rubbed along. By the end of World War Two the small company they'd created
in their dad's name - J. W. Thornton Limited - had 40 profitable shops around
the country.
As we all know the company profited profusely
over the decades and was a glittering success. Stanley died aged 88 in Derby's
Royal Infirmary hospital having lived in Derbyshire for decades. Life had been
as happy as it had been successful - he married Jeanette and they had six
children. The city of Derby thought this real-life Willy Wonka
important enough to allow his funeral service to be carried out at the cathedral.
His ashes are interred where I'm stood in Winster, an
old village hidden in limestone hills and glorious countryside.
That Sunday evening I had the churchyard to
myself. Centrally I found three decaying Thornton headstones. Stanley is
between his wife and one of their daughters. Do the Winster
natives know he's here? I'm not sure but there wasn't a single flower on the
graves. The stones were tired and unadorned. He lived in the village so they
must have known him (his home Thornton House is now 'luxury apartments' - oh no.)
He did astoundingly well: four years before he died the company was floated on
the stock market and exploded into the 500 retail shops we now know. In 2015 it
was bought by Ferroro for £112 million. Blimey.
Time to go. I'd been walking and grave-hunting
over Derbyshire that day and the flask and belly were almost empty. I looked at
the grave one last time. It's a humble one bearing in mind the giant chocolate-drenched
empire Stanley helped create. He was probably a humble man. I did a salute and
left.