Welcome to the Original Virtual Museum - celebrating Woolworths' century at the heart of British High Street Shopping
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please click a menu button Original Virtual Museum Home Page please click a menu button The Woolworth value store concept is born in the USA please click a menu button Laying the foundations as the first British Woolworth store opens in Liverpool in November 1909 please click a menu button Woolworths rapidly open forty-four stores in Britain and Ireland before facing a World War please click a menu button Bigger, brighter and bolder Woolworth stores in the Roaring Twenties please click a menu button Woolworths go to amazing lengths to keep all prices under sixpence in the Thirties please click a menu button Bravery and defiance during World War II in Woolworths' finest hour. We pay tribute to the sacrifices made and look behind the scenes please click a menu button Redefining the Woolworth brand for modern times in the 1950s, as prices go up and stores get bigger and bigger please click a menu button Superstores in and out of town, a new own brand and the opening of overseas Commonwealth stores during the 1960s please click a menu button Woolworth struggles to keep up during the rapid inflation and change of the 1970s please click a menu button Woolworth stores in more recent times, covering the period 1980-2008 please click a menu button
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Background to the Original Virtual Museum and copyright information about the contents Origins of the firm's legendary pic'n'mix and a century of chocolate, candy and confectionery in the High Street A century of music and entertainment in the High Street from sheet music and gramophone records to CDs and blu-ray discs A century of toys, games and fun in the High Street stores of F. W. Woolworth A century of fashion in the High Street, from paper patterns and sixpenny knickers to an extensive range of award-winning Ladybird clothing A century of cards, pens, pads and books from the shelves of F. W. Woolworth stores Pots and pans, paint and brushes, bulbs and compost and even toiletries - all in High Street Woolworth stores for much of the twentieth century Woolworths pioneered Christmas decorations in the 19th century and supplied presents for our parents, grandparents and great grandparents from their High Street stores Working conditions and pay rates at Woolworths over a hundred years and some of the people behind the brand-name Our cinema, quiz and picture gallery features Visit the new look 21st century Woolworths on line, on the site operated by Shop Direct Group
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The Great War in Postcards, printed and published by F. W. Woolworth & Co. Ltd.
 

In the days before mobile phones, satellite communications, radio and television, picture postcards provided a good way of staying in touch. Some showed scenic views or local landmarks, while others were very topical and linked to the events of the day. Woolworth published and sold postcards before and during the First World War.

When the Great War broke out in 1914 a wave of patriotism swept the country. The High Street chain responded with a series of cards that introduced the key personalities, battleships and battlefields of the conflict. The cards give an intriguing insight into how the War was presented as it happened.

To view a postcard in higher resolution simply click its image. If you have a fast connection you can browse through the large versions of the cards by selecting the first one and then using the last/next links. You are welcome to download and reproduce these pictures, courtesy of The Virtual Museum, if you do so in memory of those who lost their lives defending the cause of freedom.

 
Sir Edward Grey, the Foreign Secretary at the start of the Great War
Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty at the outset of World War I
Field Marshall Earl Roberts pictured at the outbreak of the Great War
Sir John French, a Field Marshall in the First World War, and later Lord Lieutenant of Ireland after quelling the Easter Uprising
Field Marshal Earl Kitchener, pictured in 1914 at the outset of the First World War
Sir Edward Grey
Foreign Secretary
Rt Hon Winston Churchill MP
First Lord of the Admiralty
EarlRoberts
Field Marshall
Sir John French
Field Marshall
EarlKitchener
Secretary of State for War
HMS Amphion, a British Battleship of the Great War
HMS Speedwell, a Battleship in the First World War
Sir John Jellicoe, British Admiral in the Great War
HMS Iron Duke, a British Battleship from the First World War
HMS Birmingham, a Battleship of the First World War
HMS Amphion
Active-class scout - 1st loss
HMS Speedwell
First World War Minesweeper
Sir John (Earl) Jellicoe
Admiral later 1st Sea Lord
HMS Iron Duke
Dreadnought Battleship
HMS Birmingham
First World War Light Cruiser
 
HMS Queen Mary - a Royal Naval Battle Cruiser in the Great War destroyed at the Battle of Jutland in 1916
Patriotic Postcards 3 inch x 6 inch counter ticket from Woolworths during the First World War
'Deck cleared for action' an unnamed Royal Naval Battleship in World War One
HMS Queen Mary
Royal Naval Battle Cruiser
'Deck cleared for Action'
An unknown Naval Battleship in WWI
 
The Second English Trench at Ypres in the First World War
Uhlans Routed by French Dragoons in the First World War
Another piece of German Treachery - a patriotic Great War postcard from Woolworths
Highlanders drawing water - a patriotic First World War postcard from F. W. Woolworth & Co. Ltd.
'Bravo Tommy' - a patriotic Great War postcard from Woolworths
2nd English Trench at Ypres
Uhlans routed by French Dragoons
A piece of German Treachery
Highlanders drawing water
'Bravo Tommy'
 
'Not Ashamed To Die' - a patriotic British postcard from World War One
'The Last Gunner' - an evocative picture postcard of the Great War from the counters of Woolworths
Flooded German trenches - a patriotic British postcard from the Great War
Night and Flame - a patriotic British Great War postcard from the shelves of F. W. Woolworth
'Worth living for' - a patriotic postcard from the shelves of Woolworths in 1914
'Not ashamed to die'
'The last gunner'
Flooded German Trenches
'Night and Flame'
'Worth living for'
Britannia rules the waves - a patriotic British postcard from the First World War
'Always merry and bright' - a patriotic postcard from Woolworths in the Great War
The USA finally joins the Great War in 1917, with F. W. Woolworth Co. USA publishing this card of U.S.S. The Recruit in Union Square, New York
The Lion roars 'D-d-did you s-s-say Berlin'?!! in this patriotic British postcard from World War I
The lion boasts 'NOW we're busy !!' in this patriotic postcard from the shelves of Woolworths during World War One
Britannia rules the waves
Always merry and bright
USS The Recruit in NY in 1917
D-d-did you s-s-say Berlin?
NOW we're busy !!
The F. W. Woolworth 'Diamond W' motif, designed by the Founder
 
If you have enjoyed our Virtual Museum website, why not check out our complete history of Woolworths in a 194 page, richly illustrated paperback book? A Sixpenny Romance is just £10.99, with free delivery in our on-line shop.
The special DVD, the Wonder of Advertising, is now available in our on-line shop for £7.50 with free delivery. A fully illustrated 194 page history of Woolworths, or a selection of professionally authored DVDs in our on-line shop