Mrs Etheridge plans to spend more time with her daughter Claire and her twins

by Dan Bloom

When Doris Etheridge saw the ads for check-out staff at a new shop, she joined on its first day. Almost 40 years later she has retired at the ripe age of 80.

The grandmother finished her last shift yesterday (Thursday) at Morrisons in Strood with a surprise party thrown by colleagues.

"It’s the biggest shock of my life," she said. She’ll miss the store but admits she is not a fan of self-service tills. "I hate them. It’s so impersonal, nobody says good morning and nobody says goodbye when you’re finished."

Mrs Etheridge moved from London to her Rede Court Road, Strood, home aged 35 in 1968.

She lived there ever since with her husband George, an engineer’s storekeeper who died six years ago after 54 years of marriage.

"When I lost my husband I was over retirement age but they never made me leave," she said. "I just carried on. I reduced my shifts to eight hours a week.

"I love it. In all the years I’ve been at the checkout I could count on one hand how many people I’ve not enjoyed serving."

Surprise party: From left, Helen Wilson, John Halmkan, assistant duty manager, Doris Etheridge and Jackie Cook

Colleague Laura Nunn, 37, added: "She’s a genuine, lovely, hard-working lady. We can have five people on checkouts and her customers will only go to her. They just want Doris."

Mrs Etheridge was stacking shelves at Sainsbury’s in Chatham’s Pentagon Centre when the new Strood Safeway was built in the mid-70s.

It was taken over by Morrisons and moved to new premises but the pensioner stayed on.

The firm took Mrs Etheridge to their Bradford headquarters to mark her 25 years’ service. "I sat next to Ken Morrison!" she said. "He was a lovely man."

The high-pressure supermarket world has taken its toll. "It’s not quite the fun it used to be," she said.

But her colleagues are "very nice people to work with and it’s a very nice company to work for."

Mrs Etheridge now wants to spend more time with daughter Claire, 42, of Brompton Farm Road, Strood, who had twins last year.

"It’s very sad to go," she added. "I’m not leaving because I don’t like the work – I love the work. It was time to go."