Pensioner who worked at Clarks for 68 years given boot with two days' notice

Jill Cornick, 82, is out of work for the first time in her life after being told the Clarks shop she worked in since 1956 in Dorset was closing.

Ellen Manning
Updated Fri, April 26, 2024 

Jill Cornick was given just two days' notice when the Clarks store she has worked in her whole life was announced as closing. (BNPS/Solent)


A pensioner who has worked at the same Clarks shoe shop for 68 years lost her job with just two days' notice when the store suddenly closed.

Jill Cornick, 82, first started working at the store in Blandford, Dorset, in 1956 when she was just 14 and has worked continuously for the British retailer since then.

She even postponed her 1969 honeymoon to attend a training course, and had a playpen in the shop in the 70s for her son Jason so she could carry on working.

Cornick had recently reduced her working week to three days but had no plans to retire until she was suddenly told last Thursday that the shop was closing the following Monday.

The decision means she is out of work for the first time in her life.

She said: "We were all told last Thursday that we were closing on the Monday. It gave us all a bit of a shock.

"I started in 1956 and have been in the same shop since. I felt well in myself and I was hoping I was going to do another few years before I retired. It is a real shame."

Cornick said she is reluctant to "start again" with a new job, so now will turn to charity work, and having a well-earned rest.

Cornick's roles have included manager and master fitter. (Solent/BNPS)

The 82-year-old has been left overwhelmed by the response from longstanding customers, many of whom brought her flowers and chocolates.

"I've helped so many customers over the years and some people were nearly in tears," she added. "In some instances I have helped four generations in the same family to size their shoes.

"I loved the job, it was my life. I lived there above the shop for years and brought my son up there. I will miss it but I don't want to start again now."

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Cornick's first job at Clarks was cleaning hob nail studded boots in 1956 but her roles have included manager and master shoe fitter.

The widow, whose husband David died in 2016, said she has only taken a handful of sick days in her decades of work and was furloughed for three months in 2020 during the Covid national lockdown.

She added: "I lived in a flat above the shop when my son Jason was born and he would be in his playpen next to me while I was fitting shoes. You can count on one hand the number of sick days I've taken in all my years at Clarks.

"In 1969 I got married on a Saturday and I was doing the training course two days later on the Monday. My honeymoon had to wait."

Cornick now plans to take some time for herself and maybe do some charity work. (BNPS/Solent)
Unprecedented service and dedication

A spokesperson for Clarks said: "We'd like to thank our loyal customers who have shopped with us at our Blandford store, and we'll be delighted to continue to serve them with our full range of products online and at our nearby Clarks stores in Wimborne, Poole and Bournemouth.

"We sincerely thank all members of the store team for their contributions and commitment to providing outstanding customer service.

"We would specifically like to thank Jill Cornick, whose unprecedented 68 years of service and dedication to our customers is hugely valued by all at Clarks."