Museum of Liverpool: Littlewoods Heritage Project display

Littlewoods Heritage Project display
1 Feb 2024—28 Apr 2024

The world-famous Liverpool company Littlewoods is remembered through the eyes of its workers in this display.

Littlewoods was an iconic brand founded by Sir John Moores and his brother Cecil. From the humble beginnings of the Football Pools in 1923 to the evolution of mail order catalogues and retail stores, Littlewoods became a household name and a national institution.

The company employed 30,000 people at its peak, mostly women. The display tells the stories of this workforce, with a strong focus on the social life of the factory and its legacy in the wider community.

Their tales are told through reproductions of vintage photographs, coupons, promotional materials and other memorabilia. The display is founded in five years of research and interviews, as part of the Littlewoods Heritage Project.

The Moores brothers were renowned for looking after their employees; not only did they pay the best wage in Liverpool, but ‘Littlewoodies’ were also treated to day trips and given the chance to join in-house sports teams, choirs and amateur dramatic groups.

During the war Littlewoods buildings were commandeered to make barrage balloons and Halifax bombers as the women were repurposed for the wartime effort. With the rise of automation they were one of the first companies in the UK to introduce IBM computers.

Behind these innovations are tales of sisterhood, camaraderie and lifelong friendships amongst the women who were proud to be Littlewoodies.