- Married to John Timpson, man behind shoe repair and key-cutting empire
- She hired young offenders and employed people based on their personality
There was standing room only a few days ago as the extended family of Alexandra Timpson gathered in Cheshire to pay their respects, kicking off with one of her favourite hymns - All Things Bright And Beautiful.
But then the numbers were hardly surprising, considering the size of that family - not to mention all that this astonishing woman had packed into her 69 years.
For Alex, as she was known, had not just been a mother of five, including a member of the current Government. She had also been foster mother to at least 90 children and a fairy godmother to many more.
Alex Timpson was a kindly, charismatic woman whose default response in the face of trouble was to open her arms. During her inspiring life she fostered more than 90 children (above) alongside bringing up her own five
Alex’s love of family extended to a High Street household name right across Britain. Married to the man behind the Timpson shoe repair and key-cutting empire, she encouraged her husband, John, to introduce an enlightened system of rewards and perks for their staff - not least a day off on their birthdays and a free seaside holiday with their families.
As well as recruiting young offenders, they would go on to establish another business aimed solely at those to whom life had dealt an unfavourable hand.
Alex with fostered triplets in the boot of a car. Her son James said: ‘My mum was a true force of nature. She had her own style that always seemed to work. he never had a handbag or a purse. She kept her cash in the left cup of her bra, credit cards in the right and she only did business with people she liked - and those who needed a leg up in life'
Alex 's love of family extended to a High Street household name right across Britain. Married to the man behind the Timpson shoe repair and key-cutting empire, she encouraged her husband, John, pictured above outside their family home, to introduce an enlightened system of rewards and perks for their staff
When her second son, Edward, stood as Tory candidate for the previously safe Labour seat of Nantwich and Crewe in 2008, Left-wing attack dogs sent a team of actors to strut around the constituency in top hat and tails mocking the ‘Tory toff’.
The voters saw through it and Edward was returned as MP. Yet, then, as now, any study of the Timpson story should be enough to persuade the most truculent Corbynista that the capitalist system is not all bad.
For, at a time when big business is under the cosh again, here is a story which that the tax-swerving Amazons and Googles of the corporate world to shame.
Shortly after she married, Alex began fostering and found she was born to do it, even if her first experience wasn't easy. The first two arrivals were brothers, aged four and six, who careered around the kitchen hurling obscenities at her own young brood. ‘My children, who had never heard that kind of language' she said
And the driving force behind it was not some slick marketing guru. It was a kindly, charismatic woman whose default response in the face of trouble was to open her arms - and whose story serves as an inspiration to us all. Conventional Alex Timpson most certainly was not.
You learn to ignore the 20 occasions when they slam the door, and praise them the one time they shut it quietly
‘My mum was a true force of nature. She had her own style that always seemed to work,’ her eldest son, James, told me.
‘She never had a handbag or a purse. She kept her cash in the left cup of her bra, credit cards in the right and she only did business with people she liked - and those who needed a leg up in life.’
Born in Cheshire just after the war, she trained as a nursery nurse before meeting John Timpson at a tennis club party. A year later, they were married and would go on to have three children. Soon afterwards, Alex began fostering - and found she was born to do it, even if her first experience was hardly an easy one.
Alex was married to the man behind the Timpson shoe repair and key-cutting empire, John (above). She encouraged her husband to introduce an enlightened system of rewards and perks for their staff - not least a day off on their birthdays and a free seaside holiday with their families
The first two arrivals were brothers, aged four and six, who careered around the kitchen hurling obscenities at her own young brood. ‘My children, who had never heard that kind of language, sat at the table with their eyes popping out of their heads,’ she later recalled.
But the departure of the boys was agony. ‘I had been told that they were going to lovely new parents, but they were sent back to the children’s home - a ghastly place. I felt I’d let them down, and it took me a long time to get over it. ‘You get so emotionally involved, you vow never to do it again, because your heart is broken.’
But do it again she did, many times. She fostered children who had been beaten, stabbed with nappy pins and abused terribly.
Born in Cheshire just after the war, Alex trained as a nursery nurse before meeting John Timpson at a tennis club party. A year later, they were married and would go on to have three children
‘You learn to ignore the 20 occasions when they slam the door, and praise them the one time they shut it quietly.’ Unable to contemplate sending two boys back into the system - including one who wet himself 24 times a day - she and John adopted them.
The couple’s children learned to help out with tantrums and late-night feeds as more arrived. One stayed for ten years. Having been raised with around 90 siblings over the years, it seems entirely appropriate that Edward’s political career has led to his appointment as Children’s Minister.
It made for a lively home. ‘You never knew who was going to be there when you got home from work,’ her husband, John, said. ‘But it always gave Alex so much pleasure. She was a giver, not a taker. She got her pleasure out of helping.’
Having been raised with around 90 siblings over the years - 70 of whom are in this montage - it seems entirely appropriate that Alex and John's son Edward’s political career has led to his appointment as Children’s Minister
The Timpson family footwear business dates back to Victorian times. John was rising through the ranks after leaving university when the business was sold and absorbed into the Hanson Trust group. With Alex’s encouragement, John launched an audacious management buy-out and the business returned to the family’s control in 1983.
It was an extremely stressful time. Twice, John had to remortgage the house to keep the show on the road. Thereafter, Alex’s philosophy helped shape the way the company was managed. A policy of hiring young offenders saw reoffending rates plummet.
A monthly scheme to make a ‘dream come true’ for an employee recently enabled a member of staff to return to the Caribbean to be reunited with a father she had not seen for 13 years.
The family had long enjoyed taking holidays in Anglesey, but Alex found the food at the local pub disappointing, so she persuaded John to buy it. Then the family bought a second pub nearby as a social enterprise project
The company acquired a series of seaside properties for the exclusive use of staff, free of charge. And it didn’t seem to do much harm to the balance sheet, either, as John continued to build the business.
Today, with son James at his side, they have some 1,400 branches.
‘It’s no coincidence that the business employed so many ex-offenders and care leavers,’ James said. ‘My mum always encouraged me to take risks and employ people solely based on their personality.’
Alex fostered children who had been beaten, stabbed with nappy pins and abused terribly. The couple’s children learned to help out with tantrums and late-night feeds as more arrived. One stayed for ten years
Corporate success allowed her to indulge in some of her pleasures, not least racing and Manchester City Football Club. But it only inspired Alex to do more. ‘I could never be a lady who lunches, and I’m not cut out for committee work,’ she said three years ago.
The family had long enjoyed taking holidays in Anglesey, but Alex found the food at the local pub disappointing, so she persuaded John to buy it.
Then the family bought a second pub nearby, the Oyster Catcher, as a social enterprise project, training unemployed youngsters for the catering industry. She was immensely proud when one of her ‘cadets’ was snapped up by the famous Michelin-star Fat Duck restaurant in Berkshire.
It made for a lively home. ‘You never knew who was going to be there when you got home from work,’ her husband, John, said. ‘But it always gave Alex so much pleasure. She got her pleasure out of helping’
Alex had been even more thrilled when, in 2006, she received the MBE for her fostering work. Receiving the honour from the Prince of Wales, she said, was ‘the proudest day of my life’.
The wider world may only have learned about this splendid lady with her passing.
But she had touched the lives of so many that when it came to organising the service of thanksgiving for her life, the family could not find a church large enough. Hence the need for a giant marquee. More than 1,000 people were there, including many of her foster children. Some were accompanied by children of their own who had come to say farewell to a woman they knew as ‘Granny’.
‘Fostering isn’t about the size of your house or the make of your car,’ she said three years ago. ‘It’s about what you can give emotionally.’
And in that respect, she never stopped.
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