2 March 2021 – The Munns Dynasty at HMSO – the long and not so long of it! 

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Stan Munns spent 30 years with HMSO and served in London and Norwich until taking the opportunity of early retirement in 1975. Having recently come across HMSOldies whilst researching for a book on his life I thought the following may be of interest.

I followed in my father’s footsteps at Sovereign House for a short while until joining the Metropolitan Police in London.

As a teenager Stan Munns was apprenticed as a bookbinder to ‘Sisley’s’ printers in Erith Kent. He won the City and Guilds ‘Silver Medal’ for Book Binding (Finishing) in 1939, at the age of 21, a measure of his overall ability in that field and an indication of his lifelong ability and love of art and his chosen craft.

Once qualified he worked in Lewes with W.E.Baxter a printing company which I believe still exists, a brief history is reproduced from their website.

‘W E Baxter is a company with a heritage. Founded to exploit technologies patented by the original W E Baxter, the company has adapted and transformed itself many times to meet the demands of its customers. Today it is part of the B.L.L. Holdings Ltd and is focused on manufacturing paper over board ring binders and similar products, together with the print necessary to make the products work. The reputation for quality, service and delivery has been hard earned over many years but explains why so many clients form a long term relationship with W E Baxter.

World War 2 was declared and Stan volunteered in 1939 serving in the Royal Marines and a member of the MNBDO. (Mobile Naval Base Defence Organisation). So then, Cpl S. A. Munns RM., was posted to Shorncliffe Kent, then to Egypt (via Naval Convoy) and on to Crete. He survived the battle of Crete and was taken prisoner fighting the rear-guard action in Suda Bay. A POW in Stalag IVC between 1941 and 1945, he was repatriated and returned to England in May 1945, there to marry his fiancée of 5 years, on 30th June 1945 little more than a month after his repatriation. He spoke little of his experiences during those years but did compile a diary when a POW.

Stan Munns returned to his profession as a bookbinder and served with HMSO from December 1945 until 1975 when he retired as Asst. Director.

He served at Cornwall House Bindery, Atlantic House in Holborn, then was part of the first groups to move to Norwich at Sovereign House moving to St Crispins later in his service.

As a young boy I can recall being taken for a visit to the Cornwall House bindery on a Saturday morning, a real treat, and will never forget the aroma of molten glue and watching Dad use gold leaf to stamp letters on the spine of a book. I never realised at that age what an art it was or how talented he was in his field.

Then there was the IPEC exhibition, where I was shown the basics of four colour printing, a relatively new process at the time, and the evenings at home when Dad would be in the dining room with plans strewn over the dining room table, little did I realise that he was designing a new piece of machinery.

Stan worked in P&B for the most part, then in the late 60’s (and certainly when I was working in Sovereign House), worked with the late Bob Dwyer in a newly formed Industrial Relations section. His calm attitude and clear thinking must have been useful there.

He was one of the few who crossed the road from an HTO to the Admin side as an Asst Director, but never forgot his technical background, using it to his advantage on a number of occasions during negotiations, and being the primary in two inventions one for the automated removal of staples and the other for a new binding technique, both principals are still in use today.

Retiring in 1975 he spent 22 years in happy and mainly active retirement in Norfolk passing in January 1997. I recall a large number of HMSO colleagues at his funeral for which I was grateful and appreciative of the support. Having travelled from the heat of Australia to attend, I will never forget the freezing temperatures of that day.

For my part, I left City of Norwich Grammar, in 1969, where I was studying A Levels, academia was not for me. I had not really settled from moving up from London as a teenager and wanted to get into the workforce. I applied to HMSO as they were taking on staff, it was a good sound basis from which to commence my working life, and I needed a job!

This was with a certain amount of trepidation having my father as a relatively senior member of staff. I recall at my interview one of the panel, I think Bob Norris, mentioned my father and I had a line ready and waiting, that I was there on my terms and not hanging on to Dad’s coat tails, I think that may have got me the job!

I commenced at Sovereign House in late 1969 as a CO, September I recall, and was assigned to F3C where I served until leaving in January 1971 to join the Met Police in London. Names like Frank Cotterel, my EO, Frank Ashman as HEO and Jim Curtis as Asst Director. In my section, Philip Nott (always with 2 T’s!) Geoff Pye and Tom, (the surname escapes me but of same vintage as Geoff Pye).

I can remember Geoff who sat opposite me, and adjacent to the window, keeping me on the ball on Monday afternoons, by tapping his pen on my desk, or pushing a file towards me when I was suffering from lack of sleep having spent the weekend partying in London! I blamed the soporific effects of the sun streaming through the window.

I was glad when I purchased my own car, (it gave me some independence) as previously I had been grabbing a lift with Dad, he was an early bird, so being late was never a issue, we would park in a car park at the northern end of the office but in Magdalene Street, where a deal for office staff had been done. From there a walk to the office often meeting up with Valerie and (the late) Adrienne Bailey, who also arrived well before the allotted time! My own car also meant that on Friday’s I could drive directly to London arriving in good time to party the weekend away (with my now wife of almost 50 years).

I recall a couple of CA’s Gilly Bean whose father also worked in the office and a Jenny Kett who had joined as one of the first locals once the office was established. There are so many faces which are still familiar but the passage of time dulls the name recognition.

I now live in Australia having retired from the police and migrated here, since retirement #1 have owned a photographic store and after selling that (retirement #2) managed Tourism & Visitor Services for the local Shire Council until retirement #3 in 2016.

So then a brief which I hope may bring back some memories of the Sovereign House days. I remember them fondly from where I type in Lakes Entrance about 400kms east of Melbourne Australia.

John Munns
Feb 2021