Figure 1.--Here is a little booklet advertisement for 'Homepride Flour". The booklet is aimed at children. Presumably the company hoped the children would convince mum to buy Honepride Flour. Or perhaps mum liked the idea of bringing something home for the kiddies. The booklet features a little boy main character: 'Tommy Homepride'. Click on the image to see a page.

Here is a little booklet advertisement for 'Homepride Flour'. The booklet is aimed at children. Presumably the company hoped the children would convince mum to buy Honepride flour. Or perhaps mum liked the idea of bringing something home for the kiddies. The booklet features a little boy main character: 'Tommy Homepride'. The booklet is undated, but we would guess dates from the 1950s. It includes, stories, jokes, puzzles, and games that might amuse children. There were also recopies for mum. The company seems to have promoted the use of its sacks as caps. I'm not sure if any boys actually did that. Perhaps some of our British readers will remember these ads and even the booklet. Homepride is a brand that is still popular in England, but Tommy disappeared in the 1960s.

The Company

Flour was sold in large barrels. Customers bought small quantities from merchants who measured out the flour from these barrels. Pre-packed and branded flour was a novelty when it was first introduced. The first company to do so was Spillers and Nephews in South Wales (1897). Several small companies followed suit. One of these brands was Homepride (1920s). It was marketed in the Midlands by Robbins and Power who subsequently sold the brand to Spillers (1940s). Spillers sells pre-packed flour under several different brands (McDougalls, Feathery Flake, and Spillers Albatross) (1940s). Henry Jones of Bristol developed the innovation of adding raising ingredients to plain flour, inventing self-raising flour. I'm not sure when the Tommy Homepride character first appeared. I think in the 1950s. Spillers launched Homepride as a national brand of flour, combining the various regional brands. The new Homepride brand introduced new milling techniques achieving a more uniform granulation (1963). American advertisers (Bob Geers and Bob Gross) created a new adverting campaign based on the Fred character. Fred is a little man in a bowler hat. He and his brothers are often on TV. Homepride is a brand that is still popular in England. The company still used the Fred icon.

Children's Book

Here is a little booklet advertisement for 'Homepride Flour'. The booklet is aimed at children. Presumably the company hoped the children would convince mum to buy Honepride flour. Or perhaps mum liked the idea of bringing something home for the kiddies.

Tommy Homepride

The booklet features a little boy main character: 'Tommy Homepride'. Tom/Tommy is a quintessential English name, It became the --the English equivalent of GI Joe--Tommy Atkins or Tommy for short. It appears to have been popularized by none other than the Duke of Wellington. The booklet is undated, but we would guess dates from the 1950s. It includes, stories, jokes, puzzles, and games that might amuse children. There were also recipes for mum.

Caps

The company seems to have promoted the use of its sacks as caps. I'm not sure if any boys actually did that. Perhaps some of our British readers will remember these ads and even the booklet.

Created: 8:01 PM 4/1/2006
Last updated: 7:45 PM 9/10/2023
Last updated: 7:45 PM 9/10/2023