Kays Catalogues: What it was like working at this Worcester stalwart

There was a special souvenir pullout from 1994 marking 200 years of success, there were pictures of the famous Kays pantomime productions, as well as staff turning up with regularity to model the season’s latest offerings to be found in the catalogue.

There was even a feature on the Kays Ladies football team, complete with some great images.

March 1995 and staff are back on the catwalk - Nikki Southwick, Julie Hawes and Danyel Williams

'Nurse' Carolyn Hughes, who worked at Kays' Tything office, has a stab at boosting charity coffers

Danyel Williams in a grass skirt for a good cause

April 1996 saw Kays' summer collection being shown off by Tyrone Gilchrist, Charlotte Williams and Dean Thomas at Perdiswell Leisure Centre in a catwalk show which raised hundreds for the Macmillan Nurses Fund

It's October 1997 and Museum of Local Life social history officer Helen Sykes shows off one of the earliest digital watches, produced in 1913, and its entry in the Kays catalogue

Pam Saunders, playing Tom, the principal boy, meets the dragon (Bert Prosser) in Goodie Two Shoes in 1983

Peter Pessol, star of many a Kays panto. This image is from 1982

In 1968 Prince Charming Verne Yorke Williams shows Cinderella’s slipper to majorettes Cherry Hope, Margaret Williams, Maria Benger and Susan Stephens

The dancers from 1995’s Puss in Boots

Mr W Kilbourne Kay, founder of the Kays business, in his private office

October 1994 and Kays employees Liane Wilson, Daen Purser and Sarah Harris showed off the autumn and winter collection

It’s October 1995 and more staff on the catwalk for a fashion show which also raised hundreds of pounds for the Midlands Air Ambulance. Among the models were Danyel Williams, Alison Bradley, Tyrone Gilchrist and Paula Massey

February 1996 and Charlotte Williams takes time off from being a call centre operator at Kays to toss a pancake, marking Shrove Tuesday and to help raise money for the Macmillan Cancer Relief Fund

October 1997 and an unfortunate oversight saw a picture of a rump steak used on one of the food pages of the catalogue - complete with fly

Kays staff were regularly used in conjunction with professional models to help show off the new season’s ranges. August 1999 saw Francesca Shuttleworth, Lyndsey Hitch, Alexandra Bell and Simon Pete all togged up

The Kays IT department reached a European final in a contest run by magazine Computer Weekly. From left, Steve Yates, Dave Arnold, Nick Bentley, Mark Taylor and Mike Arnold

IN May 1999, Worcester News feature writer Mike Pryce wrote a feature on the Kays Ladies football team, who used to play at the Cinderella ground before disappearing in the mid-1970s after a merger with Worcester City Ladies

Clare Davies pictured in 1999 with the one of the women’s team photographs from the 1970s

Former striker Lesley Yeates pictured in 1999 with a picture of her younger self in action

What’s known as putting your foot through it. Action from the 70s

A promotional shot from November 1994, marking 200 years of the Kays business

This picture dates from March 1973 and shows some of the 4,000 feet of paper that chattered out of the Kays of Worcester computer when the company had to reprice 8,000 catalogue items because of change to the VAT rate

Jenny Dean won regional employee of the year in 1998

This picture from the 200 years supplement had a few people scratching their heads over the weekend on our We grew up in Worcester page on Facebook. It features various stars of the 60s and 70s who appeared in the Kays catalogue. Do you recognise the faces?