W.R. Wilkinson & Co. Ltd. (Pontefract)
W.R. Wilkinson & Co. was established as a Licorice maker in Southgate, Pontefract in 1884.
Licorice was brought to the UK at some point in the 14th Century, reputedly either by the Crusaders returning from the middle east, or the Dominican monks who settled in Pontefract Priory at around the same time. Initially used for curing stomach pains and other ailments, it was found that Licorice grew particularly well in the soils of Pontefract, and subsequently the area developed into a hub of the licorice trade.
History suggests that the first “cakes” were made by George Saville in 1614, and in 1760 a certain George Dunhill, an apothecary in Pontefract, established the idea of a sweets product, launching the “Pomfet Cake”. Dunhills later became Haribo, which is one of two remaining licorice factories in the town of Pontefract.
W.R. Wilkinson remained independent and active until 1961, when it merged with its biggest rival, Sheffield based Bassett, after which the Wilkinson brand was phased out.
The “Popular Footballers” set was released circa 1955, and remains the only known set of cards released by Wilkinson.
Popular Footballers (c1952). 25 Cards
Cards are black and white to the front, and numbered to the rear (1-25).
#1 A. Forbes (Arsenal)
#2 S. Pearson (Manchester United)
#3 D. Lishman (Arsenal)
#4 Billy Steel (Dundee)
#6 Tommy Lawon (Notts County)
#7 W. Liddell (Liverpool)
#8 Nat Lofthouse (Bolton Wanderers)
#9 L. Medley (Tottenham Hotspur)
#12 G. Hardwick (Oldham Athletic)
#18. Wilf Mannion (Middlesbrough)
Mannion played over 350 goals for Middlesbrough between 1936-54, scoring 110 goals in the process. During WWII he joined the Green Howards, and was initially sent to France to hold back the German advance, but was evacuated from Dunkirk along with hundreds of thousands of others. He later served in Egypt, and then in Italy and the invasion of Sicily, where his commanding officer was Yorkshire’s cricket captain Hedley Verity. Sadly Verity was mortally wounded in the invasion, and died in July 1943, aged just 38. Some fantastic information on Mannion on the following link: https://spartacus-educational.com/MIDDmannion.htm
#19 L. Scott (Crystal Palace)
#20 G.R. Cowell (Newcastle United)
#21 W. Barnes (Arsenal)
#22 Stan Mortenson (Blackpool)
#23 Tom Finney (Preston North End)
#24 Ted Ditchburn (Tottenham Hotspur)
#25 J. Harvey (Newcastle United)
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