Oxfordshire: 600 coffee factory workers’ plaques sought

Dutch coffee-making giants Jacob Douwe Egberts (JDE) announced last June that its plant off Ruscote Avenue in Banbury, would shut.

The factory is home to an honours board made up of plaques honouring those who worked there for 30 or more years.

Jo Mobley, having recovered her fathers plaque, is now attempting to reunite more than 600 others on the board with theirs.

Ms Mobley has started the Facebook page ‘help reunite 30 years service plaques from JDE’.

The Facebook group has more than 230 followers with workers and family members alike trying to retrieve the plaques.

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Talking to the BBC, she said: “It started as a very small mission and its ended up very big – it’s snowballed into finding more than 600 names.”

“I would like every person, or as quite a few have passed away, any of their families to be reunited with their plaques,” she said.

The group is working with the Labour MP for Banbury, Sean Woodcock, to retrieve the plaques.

However, JDE, and Cherwell District Council believe the plaques should be displayed elsewhere in commemoration of the workers.

The plant, which employed about 160 people, originally opened as a General Foods Factory in 1964.

Since the announcement of the closure JDE have been slowing operations and intent to wind down fully by December this year.

A spokesperson for JDE said the full closure ‘was not an easy decision’.