Page 135 - Demo

135Then the Second World War came and he joined the Merchant Navy as a cook. It no doubt provided good insight when he returned home to rejoin the business which had by now moved half way up the hill to 138 High Street West. He and his father built on the marine focus of the business to cover all aspects of supplying food to ships.Competition to do so was strong. This meant that Albert junior and his competitors were known to wait all night long in the hope to be the first to meet the captain when he woke up. By the 1970s Gibbons was the last business standing.Albert senior was well known in the community. To thank his customers when he closed the High Street East shop (which was due for demolition) he took 400 of them on a day out to Redcar. Imagine what the Teesside locals must have thought with 400 Mackems descending on them. He also played a civic role in Sunderland, becoming a councillor and was also deputy mayor for a time.Ian, the next generation of Gibbons, joined the business in 1984 and moved the marine supply and catering out to Southwick. It now operates out of Seaham and trades as Gibbons International supplying offshore, renewable, oil and gas, ferry and cruise line operators across the world.The retail side of the business closed its doors on High Street West in 2015 when Albert Junior finally decided to retire at the grand old age of 84.The day trip to Redcar. Credit: Gibbons Intl