The Colchester-based firm has been trading for 112 years.
It said that it was with “pride and emotion” that the company supported the commemoration of VE Day on 8 May, “knowing that as a business we must remember the past, adapt in the present, and look to the future”.
Rose Calendars was founded by George Rose in 1908, and during the First World War the firm was based in an old boot factory, where it remained for 77 years.
Rose ran production over three levels – printing in the basement, composing and collating on the ground floor, and binding and dispatching on the first floor.
“George steered the business through the First World War, managing to maintain customers and orders by adapting and being flexible,” the firm said.
His nephew, Ivor, joined the business at the age of 19 at the end of the First World War in 1918.
He worked as a salesman for the first half of the year, and then switched to production during the busy second half.
Ivor Rose was credited with introducing new ways of working, employing local young men to print the calendars and meet demand from businesses all over the country.
He took over the company in 1943 after George’s death, which came at a difficult time for the business as it was right in the middle of World War Two.
“Production was severely restricted due to paper shortages, with the majority of staff being commissioned to the services for the war effort. Ivor himself worked as a Fire Guard during the war, but with careful management and planning of scarce materials, the business kept going.”
Paper was rationed by a strict government regulation. Calendars produced during the war had to be reduced to just one ounce (25g) in weight and significantly reduced in size.
“This amounted to cuts of over 85% to the majority of designs, with the resulting calendars being very lightweight, with ultra-thin paper.”
The company still has some examples of these calendars in its archives, which it said were “amazing to see”.
“They are a stark contrast to the designs available to businesses today, and provide a fascinating insight into how the company was able to adapt.”
Rose Calendars chairman Chris Rose was interviewed by his granddaughter Florence for the family’s archives, and recalled how his father spoke about the impact of war.
“My father was never a sentimental man, but when recalling the war he often told us of the significant losses the company endured and how many young men who’d previously worked at the factory, never returned from the war.
“The loss of life was immense and the business was sustained by a skeleton staff, but we survived. We did this by adapting and printing what we could. We have always tried to maintain our business despite what the world throws at us and the current situation is no different.”
His son Michael is now the fourth generation of Rose to lead the family business “steering us through this troubling period and our business is adapting, as we all must at this time”.
The 45-employee firm moved into purpose-built 1,400sqm premises on the Severalls Business Park in 1987.
It produces a wide range of promotional calendars, as well as branded notebooks.
The company is currently operating a limited service due to Covid-19 situation.
“Staff are remote working where possible and from before lockdown we have put in place the appropriate measures regarding social distancing and hygiene. Some of the staff have been involved in making up PPE visors which have been donated to a number of local care homes and care workers,” explained marketing manager Emily Lister.
