T.R. Thompson's copy of the revised draft of the L2 Teashop Orders job requirements report. The file is divided into the following sections: 
- Introduction 
- Tasks
- Data 
- Note 1 (London Teashop Routine)
- Note 2 (Recording Revised Orders)
- Note 3 (Production Orders)
- Note 4 (Packing Abstracts)
- Note 5 (Cadby Hall Adjustments)
- Note 6 (Accounts)
- Note 7 (Revising Allocations)

Also includes a list of Commodity Groups - items on LEO system in Autumn [i.e. all food products available from Lyons teashops], specimen sheets and a summary of job requirements by T.R. Thompson.

Research comments: This document defines in detail the job known within Lyons as L2 Teashop Orders. It covers LEO I's role in the supply of goods from Lyons' 'Departmental Despatch' to all the London teashops. The main job of Departmental Despatch was the routine delivery of bakery and kitchen goods to the teashops and restaurants and many of these items were perishable and had to be delivered as quickly as possible while as fresh as possible. Teashop vans were loaded with trays of goods which amounted to some 52,000 trays a week delivered to the teashops in 540 van runs. For the Cornerhouses and restaurants a special fleet of vans operated an hourly service between 6 am and 8.15 pm (more frequently in the peak periods) in order to maintain a constant supply of fresh rolls.

David Caminer was instrumental in making this LEO job a success. Before creating the job's initial specification, he spent some considerable time visiting teashops and talking to the manageresses (they were always women) in order to understand their processes. He then developed the idea of standard orders for teashops that would be delivered as routine unless the manageress phoned to amend it, which they often did to take account of circumstances such as unexpected hot weather for example. These revised orders were then handled by LEO I and the program then prepared and placed orders to the respective production departments within Lyons, prepared packing lists for despatch, cross-charged the various departments and provided stock control and management information for the business. The revised teashop order data needed to be ready for LEO by 5pm each day, and LEO would produce the packing lists to Despatch by 6pm ready for packing and loading to begin.

Interestingly, the document refers to rationing - food rationing only ended in the UK in July 1954 so some items such as meat, the last food item to be de-rationed in the UK, were still being rationed as this document was being prepared.

Thanks to Peter Bird for information on Departmental Despatch; see the Lyons History website for further information on the vast Lyons business. (LM)

Provenance :
From David Caminer's papers