On the 14th June we celebrate His Majesties official birthday and the date heralds a whole series of events which are so unique to our country and the British way of life. 14th June was also my sister’s birthday. Miss Audrey as she was known throughout the business.
Audrey was born in 1926, so she was 15 when my father began H.R.Higgins (Coffee-man) at 43 South Molton Street on 1st April 1942 In the dark days of the second world war. Audrey had a very close relationship with my father. She said on many occasions “I would have joined him in whatever business he was in”.
As soon as she was legally able to leave school, and after completing a course of book keeping, she fulfilled her ambition and joined him in the business. I remember him saying how proud he was of her when on one occasion delivering coffee to a restaurant, excuses were made by the management not to pay for it, so she promptly picked up the order and took it to another restaurant that did pay. Those were desperate days for money.
Audrey was studying music, learning to play the piano. The business hours were long and some of the heavier work impossible for her. There was no time to practise when she got home. My father acquired an upright piano for her and, somehow, he got it up to the top floor where the business was situated, into one room they didn’t use. When Audrey was not packing coffee, delivering it or doing the books seated so that she could see the spotters on the roof opposite who were watching for V1 rockets, she would practise on the piano. The golden rule was never to leave the piano lid open after practise, because of the risk of air raids. There was the occasion when Audrey forgot, there was a raid and the ceiling came down on to the keys of the piano. My father was livid, she said, but I think he soon forgave her. She went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music and achieved her L.R.A.M for the piano in 1948.
My father trained us to be able to cover for each other in all the various sections of the business, so though her main responsibility became administration, getting the accounts out, paying the wages, she could roast coffee, serve on the counter. pack in the mail order section. Many customers will remember her at South Molton Street and Duke Street; she loved to interact with customers. Always devoted to the business
In May 1947 my father was diagnosed with a patch on his lung and it was thought to be TB. This was a very worrying time for the family. My father was in Charing Cross Hospital and Audrey had to take on the responsibility of running the business. Fortunately, it was a false alarm, it wasn’t TB.
I remember hearing her footsteps coming down the stairs to me at 42 South Molton Street. I was managing director, it was Summer of 1975, a hot Summer and I had just finished a morning roasting coffee. I was trying to cool down, having a break in the office which was in the basement.
Our Accountant, working in the same room, had just turned to me and said “Mr Tony, that is Buckingham Palace on the phone to Miss Audrey” I replied “Really, I wonder what they want?”
Those footsteps told me she was excited, even before I heard the details of the conversation.
I have found that sometimes when given an opportunity, I may have one chance to get it right. Fortunately, there were a just enough clues in the telephone conversation for me to understand what was wanted, and I knew the coffee I would select to roast. But had I got it right, would we hear anything more?
Well, as they say, that is history. we did hear, we started serving The Royal Household and in 1979 were granted a Royal Warrant as Coffee Merchants to her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. More recently It was a great honour for us to hear that we had been appointed Coffee Merchants to His Majesty King Charles III .
We continue to feel very honoured and proud to serve The Royal Household. The ethos of the business, which began with my father, continues to this day. Your coffee is important to us. It has been said to us so many times that a day without coffee is impossible. Perhaps even more so in this uncertain world. A customer said to me “Mr Higgins, I am not part of the human race until I have had a cup of Higgins coffee.”
Everyone at H.R.Higgins, in the roastery and in the shop, is dedicated to you enjoying your coffee. It is for you we continue the exciting challenge of unlocking the secrets of the coffee bean and to share with you the fascinating facets of character which are unique to each variety. For us, it will always be your taste that really matters.
To hear more about that remarkable phone call, and the journey that followed, I sat down with my son David to reflect on the moment we were first asked to roast coffee for the Royal Household, watch the short film below.
Tony Higgins
