Keevil and Keevil

[1] As they had trouble finding work for the whole family in their local area, he left Somerset to come to London, and founded the wholesale provision firm Keevil & Best, in Cowcross Street, near Smithfield Market.

[1] Weston died very suddenly in 1908, leaving Clement to run the business on his own – something he was unprepared for, especially with the amount of time he liked to spend with his horses.

Luckily Clement's son Percy had done well in the silk industry in Manchester and wanted to move to London to go into business with his father.

When Clement died in 1925 the firm ceased trading at breakfast time, and although he had not been active in the business for some years, all of the staff attended the funeral.

[5]" The President of the Board of Trade, the Right Honourable Oliver Stanley, also wrote to Ambrose:"I am writing to express my sincere thanks for your work during the recent crisis in connection with the organisation of the distribution of provisions throughout the United Kingdom.

[1]” In August 1939, 3 days before the outbreak of war, the UK Government's Ministry of Food appointed Ambrose as the Chairman of the London Area Committee,[1] whose role it was to ensure that supplies could still get through in the event of shops and warehouses being destroyed.

All of their sites in Smithfield were affected – the 23 and 24 King Street and 228 and 229 Central Market shops were destroyed, and 36 Snow Hill was badly damaged.

[6] Percy still ran Keevils from the ruined Market, and refused to move even when served with papers instructing him to do so by the Ministry of Food – and signed by his brother Ambrose!

[1] On 8 March 1945, a Keevils employee named Mears had been taking his turn firewatching, and was killed when a V-2 rocket struck Smithfield causing 110 deaths.

After the War the two brothers decided the time had come to move on, and sold a majority interest to Fitch Lovell,[1] another long-established market name, having been in operation since 1784.

[8] Although they sold their majority share, the brothers still kept a close eye on the company – with Percy visiting the Smithfield offices regularly until he was 89 years old.

Of his retirement, the Commissioner of Uganda and former Divisional Food Officer, J.R.P Postlethwaite, wrote in his book 'I Look Back':"Colonel Ambrose Keevil who had steered the wholesale ship through the first two years of war.. tendered his resignation.