OBITUARIES: George Jeffery

I was a friend and customer of George Jeffery for 50 years, and echo Nigel Tattersfield's sentiments on his honesty and great knowledge of books [obituary, 13 January], writes Tony Bryant.

As a young boy I worked for his father, pulling the barrows from Farringdon Road to his warehouse in Clerkenwell Close. These barrows were of the two-wheel type and often, under the weight of books, capsized during the journey. This caused delay to the trolleybuses and other rush-hour traffic.

When George rejoined his father in the business after war service, he purchased the trolley-type stalls that were in use until his death. These he towed by van, making myself and the other Clerkenwell boys redundant. In later years I was one of the few people allowed to browse and buy from his warehouse.

Although George's barrows are no longer in Farringdon Road, his son George has opened a bookshop a few hundred yards away in Clerkenwell Road, so the tradition lives on.