The Dollies range of shoes for girls was made in the 1960s by George Ward Ltd of Barwell in Leicestershire.
Advertised as “Pop shoes at pop prices,” the fashionable shoes were frequently accompanied by special offers, such as free pop star posters (“featuring such famous stars as Elvis Presley and Cilla Black“).
The company also made “Ward’s Supa-Duke” – marketed as a shoe for ‘the all-action boy’ (complete with welded sole), and a range of “Grand Prix” shoes for boys, with solid leather uppers and tough hard-wearing soles (advertised as “as practical as they come”).
The inexpensive shoe ranges were designed to appeal to parents, too – boasting that they were “correctly designed to give young feet room to grow” and providing a six-month guarantee with every pair.
George Ward Ltd. manufactured shoes from 1900 until 1989. By 1918, his factory produced 20,000 pairs of shoes, which increased to 80,000 by 1938.
Born in 1871, the firm’s founder, George Ward, was also a local councillor, chairman of the governors of Hinckley Grammar School, and – for a brief period in 1923 – the Liberal MP for Bosworth. He was defeated the following year by the Conservative candidate, Captain Gee.
Ward did a lot of good work for the village of Barwell and, upon his death in 1951 (aged 72), left his house, ‘The Cedars,’ to the town’s people for the community’s benefit.
He also gave Sheepy Woods near Burbage Common to Hinckley for public use.
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The Dollies range of shoes for girls was made in the 1960s by George Ward Ltd of Barwell in Leicestershire.
