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Miscellaneous note – 'John Hodges // Sutton and Sons Ltd. Calcutta // How long did you work for Sutton’s and how did you come to work in their Calcutta office? // a) Come my mid- teens I had rejected the usual boys’ careers, Royal Marines et al. and decided upon one in horticulture. After completing my GSC exams. with acceptable results in the subjects which are essential plus Agricultural Science I was talking to my House master about the future, he was a friend of Owen Sutton and I ended-up as a trainee at Reading Trial grounds, the plan being that I stay until my National Service. Whilst at Reading it was suggested I be given a tour of the main office and warehouse and in the Board room I noticed some photographs of the Calcutta Trial grounds. India had, for reasons unknown, always fascinated me so I made enquiries about the possibilities but was told there were no vacancies in the offing so I duly left Reading for two years in the Royal Engineers. Part way through my service I had a message from Reading to say a vacancy had occurred if I was still interested, I jumped at the chance and as soon as I was able, returned to Reading to begin an intensive study of all departments along with field experience in growing areas around the country. This lasted for just over a year then in February 1957 along with my new boss, Laurence Holmes, who had been on home leave, we left for Calcutta. A flight in those days spread over nearly 48 hours and many stops. As Mike Smallwood has written elsewhere, the employment contract was by present day standards almost unbelievable, four years with no home leave and nothing was stated about local holidays. However I do remember I was provided with six pairs of white trousers and six white shirts for office wear. In ’57 I was the fourth ‘mercantile assistant’ in the office, the others being Laurence Holmes, the Manager, Nobby Clarke and Maurice Eymore. Mr. Clarke returned to Reading later that year, Maurice Eymore moved to the Kashmir office when it was opened in ’58 then he was moved a year later to the new seed growing farm at Bangalore and I went to Kashmir. Maurice left the Company in the late 50’s and was replaced by Maurice Mennear (I hope I have the correct spelling!) In April ’61 after my first home leave, I returned to Kashmir along with Mike Smallwood who worked with me for that season, at the end of which he took charge and I returned to Calcutta to take over from Laurence who was going home. I remained in Calcutta until the end of 1972 by which time the Branch office had become an Indian registered company with Indian interests holding the majority shares. // What type of work was undertaken in Calcutta? Was it purely research, or production, or were there other roles undertaken by yourself and your colleagues? // b) When the Branch was originally set up all seeds were sent from Reading, this continued until the second World War when exports were stopped so if the Indian business was to continue it had to produce seed locally. Contract growing arrangements were set-up in a variety of places, the North East for onion, the N. West for indigenous varieties of vegetables in the hot season and flower seeds during the winter with temperate vegetable seed in Kashmir, in essence a small version of the Reading set-up. Later, I believe in ’58 a lease was taken on a small farm at Ranchi in the neighbouring State of Bihar, it was at a ht. of 2300ft and ideal for flower seed growing. Crop inspection, rogueing and selection etc. was the responsibility of Calcutta which entailed considerable travelling. After harvesting, the seed was sent to Calcutta for further cleaning, lab. testing and sampling for trial ground checking – the Branch had purchased property in Tollygunge, a few miles from the office. The business was basically mail order backed up by agents and stockists spread around the country. A catalogue was published annually, usually the work of the Branch Manager, it listed a wide range of vegetable and flower seeds for both the summer and winter seasons along with a range of sundries, insecticides, fertilisers, garden tools, garden books etc. A contract with a prominent local nursery provided supplies of garden shrubs, trees, fruit plants and flowering bulbs. The Branch also had a lucrative export business, grass seed went to Yates in Australia, onion seed to East Africa, cauliflower seed to Burma and Thailand and smaller quantities of all sorts of seeds suitable for tropical climates were posted to customers in the West Indies, Viet Nam and Kenya. // How many people were working in Sutton’s Calcutta offices in your time there? // c) In 1957 there were probably about 30 employees including the trial ground workers but following opening of the Kashmir office and the Ranchi and Bangalore farms that figure would have doubled. // Was any of this done in partnership with local individuals, groups, organisations, or universities in India? // d) No // What time period did you work there? // e) Early 1957 - end 1972 // Who took over your role upon your retirement? // f) Mr. Suresh Kumar the senior Indian director // How did the company change when it’s name changed in 1969? Was it still owned by Sutton’s at this time, or did it change hands? If so, why? // g) At that time Suttons U K was controlled by Douglas Collins, the Indian branch if it was to take advantage of the major changes in the world seed market, needed investment and to move from being a branch of a UK company to being a separate Indian registered business, local investors were found and the new business established. The major capital injection came from Suresh Kumar and his brother Naresh, Suttons held, I believe,49% represented by the original business and I and the remaining Directors about 1%. The investment from the Kumar family enabled the business to vastly increase its land holding so more seed was grown under its own supervision, plant breeders were working on Hybrid varieties of various vegetables and flowers. Hermetically sealed packaging was introduced so stock could be kept safely for longer periods. My contract as Managing Director of the new company was for three years, I was provided with accommodation, before we had to find our own and I had 6 weeks home leave a year but no white shirts and trousers!! After 3 years I decided it was time for me to hand over the to the Indian shareholders and start the next stage of my career which had no connection whatsoever to seeds.', Email John Hodges to Rachael Rogers, 24 October 2019 - 'Dear Rachael, // I’m glad you have found the information useful and confirm I’m happy for it to be used in any way you wish. If you would like to include my name, go ahead. One thing I missed out, at the same time as the Bangalore farm was started the Company also rented a few acres from a school in Ootacamund, a South Indian hill station, at which flower seeds were grown. After the Branch became an Indian registered company, Suresh Kumar bought a large block of farm land, I do not remember the actual acreage, in South India not far from Bangalore and the leases on the original Bangalore property and that at Ooty were terminated. // Regards, // John', Email, Rachael Rogers to John Hodges, 24 October 2019 - 'Dear John, // This is fantastic, thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions in so much detail. This will be of great help to our archives and also to our object records. I am hoping to put together an online exhibition about Sutton’s and their role in India, so I will let you know when this is done. Can I just confirm that you would be happy for this information to be used by the museum, and for yourself to be quoted and referenced? If you’d prefer to remain anonymous in this information do just let me know and I can ensure that will be done. // Many thanks again, // Rachael', Email, John Hodges to Rachael Rogers, 19 October 2019 - 'Dear Rachael, // I am attaching a copy of my memories of Suttons, Calcutta which I hope will assist you with your research. A bit of ‘Googleing’ will bring up developments after 1972, Suresh Kumar registered another company with a similar name, Suttind Seeds to which it appears Suttons business was transferred, this was in the ‘90’s. I have no idea what happened to Suttons UK interests. When I retired from the Indian Board all but one of the Suttons nominated shareholders also resigned and sold their shareholding to the Kumars, the one remaining Director was not a shareholder. // If you believe I can help in any other way, do get in touch, in the meantime, kindest regards, John Hodges', Email, Rachael Rogers to John Hodges, 16 October 2019 - 'Dear John, // Thank you so much for your response, and I’m so pleased to hear this has brought back so many memories for you. Albeit it some regrets, I hope they are mostly happy. Yes, we do have a copy of Suttons Seeds A History 1806-2006. I’ve been looking through it to try and build a bit of a clearer picture about Sutton’s for myself. // Many thanks for taking the time to respond both briefly and in answer to the questions. I look forward to your response and please do get in touch if you have any queries. Please also feel free to add any additional comments outside of the questions. These are really a rough guide of things I had thought of, but you may have other points you wish to talk about. // All the best, // Rachael', Email, John Hodges to Rachael Rogers, 13 October 2019 - 'Dear Rachael, // Many thanks for your recent letter, quite a memory challenge, I starting working in Calcutta 62 years ago and it is 47 years since I permanently retuned home. I’m working on the questions, the answers remind me of many happy and interesting times and of course a few regrets. I assume in your records you have a copy of Suttons Seeds A History 1806-2006 published by Earley Local History Group, much of the information there in could be in my answers so I’ll work around it. // Yours sincerely, // John Hodges', Letter, Rachael Rogers to John Hodges, 6 October 2019 - 'Dear Mr. Hodges, // I am writing from the Museum of English Rural Life in Reading. I recently added a Suttons & Sons Ltd. plaque and silver salver to our database, donated by yourself in November 2018. Thank you once again for these items; they have made wonderful additions to our collections and are a great compliment to our existing Suttons Seeds collection and archive. // I am just writing to query whether you would be interested in a small project I am putting together. Whilst we have an extensive Suttons object collection, and items in our archive that show Sutton’s global reach, we are somewhat lacking in first-hand accounts and information about Sutton’s role in Calcutta and the work that was undertaken here. For this reason, I was wondering whether you would be interested to take part in a project that we’re doing to find out more information about Sutton’s in Calcutta and the experiences of those who worked there. This information can then be added to our archives and used to enhance the information that we currently have. I have enclosed an information sheet that explains in a bit more detail what will happen to the information that you provide. // I appreciate that, as you are located in Bideford, this is not the most practical distance for either of us to travel in order to meet face-to-face, so I would be happy for a letter with some detail of your time working for Sutton’s, or we can arrange a telephone call whenever is suitable for you. If you are happy to send a letter then the following would be brilliant to know a bit more about: // How long did you work for Sutton’s and how did you come to work in their Calcutta office? // What type of work was undertaken in Calcutta? Was it purely research, or production, or were there other roles undertaken by yourself and your colleagues? // How many people were working in Sutton’s Calcutta offices in your time there? // Was any of this done in partnership with local individuals, groups, organisations, or universities in India? // What time period did you work there? // Who took over your role upon your retirement? // How did the company change when it’s name changed in 1969? Was it still owned by Sutton’s at this time, or did it change hands? If so, why? // I understand if you are unable to answer all of these questions, but any information you have about your time working for Suttons in Calcutta will be of great help to us. Please get in touch with myself if you have any queries. [...] // Many thanks, and all the best, // Rachael Rogers // (Collections Assistant)', Museum Object Entry Form – '[...] DESCRIPTION OF OBJECT/COLLECTION // 1 X BRASS PLAQUE FROM THE INDIAN BRANCH OF SUTTON & SONS, CALCUTTA. WRITTEN IN ENGLISH, BENGALI, AND HINDI. ACQUIRED BY JOHN HODGES, MANAGING DIRECTOR. // 1 X SILVER SALVER. RETIREMENT GIFT GIVEN TO [donor] IN 1972 WHEN HE RETIRED FROM INDIA. 10" DIAMETER. INDIAN SILVER. // REASON FOR ENTRY: Gift // Date: 21 . 11 . 2018., Miscellaneous note – 'Brass plaque // Sign huge on wall outside office in Calcutta // Said: Sutton & Son Seeds // Indian Branch // repeated in Bengali // repeated in Hindi // Silver salver // 10" diameter. Retirement gift 1972 // Made of Indian silver // [verso] // [donor name] // went to // India - 1957 // He became managing director. Replaced by local Indian // renamed // Company - Ruby 1969 // Sign removed from outside premises // retired from India 1972 // He kept sign as souvenir // Address [...] // Size 16" x 24" as framed // Good condition., Letter, Madeleine Ding to Donor, 12 November 2018 – 'I am writing to let you know that we have received the brass plaque and silver salver delivered by your friend. Thank you very much for giving them to the museum. They will complement the Sutton Seeds articles and memorabilia we have from Reading. We would be interested in any photographs of the office or documents from your time in India working for Suttons & Sons Ltd. // Please find enclosed a 'Museum Object Entry Form' for you to sign. This form transfers ownership of the objects from you to the Museum. Please could you check the description I have written, making any corrections if necessary, and add any further information you may have on a separate sheet of paper. I would be grateful if you could then sign and date the form in the two places I have indicated with an asterisk. // Please keep the signed and dated pink (middle) copy for yourself and send the signed and dated white (top) and blue (bottom) copies back to the Museum, along with any additional information, in the enclosed stamped addressed envelope. // Yours sincerely, // Madeleine Ding // Collections Officer.', Miscellaneous note – 'from [donor] for Suttons collections. // Delivered by [...]', MERL miscellaneous note – 'Ollie, This man was Managing Director of Indian Company for Suttons Seeds. // He is offering us a brass plaque from offices. // Needs to know before end of Friday. // Adam. [verso] outside of office // Sutton & son // Seeds // Indian Branch // - Bengali // - Hindi, Reading Room Phone Enquiries - 'Name of enquirer: [...] // Details of enquiry: Calcutta RUBY comp. 1969 // - Sun morning - // Managing Dir. // Indian Company // OLD BRASS PLAQUE // 3ft // 16" wide // Contact details: [...] // [verso] // retired from India. 1972 // Silver salver - 10" diameter // inscribed presented by ='
