A Gloucestershire resident, who has been gathering Cadbury memorabilia for over 40 years, has decided the time has come for her extensive collection to go on show to the public, as she has gifted her memorabilia to the Cadbury archives in Bournville where some of her items will go on display at Cadbury World.
Gill Cocks contacted Mondelēz International in Bournville to see if they would be interested in her near 5,000 keepsakes, which range from the extremely old and rare, such as Richard Tapper Cadbury’s bible from the 1800s, to more recent items such as Cadbury branded mugs and tins.
Such is the extent of the collection, Mondelēz International’s dedicated team of archivists spent three days carefully packaging the items, which will now be catalogued and dated at the Cadbury archive in Bournville and go on display at Cadbury World as ‘The Gill Cocks Collection’ in the new year.
As a gesture of thanks The Cadbury Foundation has made a £5,000 donation to Gill’s chosen charity, We All Matter – a Winchcombe based voluntary organisation aimed at building and strengthening positive and supportive relationships in Gloucestershire.
Gill said: “I am so pleased and relieved to know that my life-long passion for collecting all things Cadbury will be kept safe at Cadbury World for future generations to enjoy as much as I have.
“I am also delighted that The Cadbury Foundation will be donating to such a worthy cause. We All Matter makes a big difference to lots of people in the area, and helps young people turn their life around and achieve their dreams.”
Sarah Foden, Cadbury archivist at Mondelēz International, said: “As an archivist, I was so excited to hear of Gill’s collection but wasn’t quite prepared to see such an extraordinary and extensive collection of Cadbury items.
“From early 1880’s memorabilia, to pre-war packaging and gift mugs from the 1980’s and 1990’s, Gill has painstakingly assembled a really interesting collection of items – certainly the most impressive I have ever come across.”
Gemma Madle, charity director at We All Matter, said: “The grant from The Cadbury Foundation will make a big difference to us, and to the people in the community. We hope to be able to reduce the waiting list for our community mentoring project and continue this valuable one to one support for young people as a result.”
