Dispatch manager Alan Smedley has retired after an impressive 50 years of working at Luke Evans Bakery in Derbyshire.

He started working at the Riddings-based company as a van lad at the age of 16 in March 1975 – getting up at 2.30am to start his shifts. After passing his driving test at 17, Alan was later given his own van round, in and around the Matlock and Wirksworth areas, before moving to the position of dispatch manager, covering the night shift, about 25 years ago.

Now aged 66, he has retired after exactly 50 years with Luke Evans. And, after his stints as a van driver starting work in the early hours and also being the night shift dispatch manager working from 7pm to 3.30am, Alan truly has worked around the clock for Luke Evans Bakery.

“It’s been a lovely job. I will miss the people. I have had some very, very happy times at Luke Evans,” said Alan. “I have met with many different people from all different backgrounds, it’s unbelievable. I have spent all my life there. It’s all I have ever known. It’s been a lovely place to work.”

He has seen so many changes in his 50 years with the company.

“When I first started, we were delivering to little village corner shops – sometimes four or five in a village. Most of those have now gone,” he added.

He praised the way that the current owners of the historic bakery – David and Helen Yates – had moved with the times, finding new outlets and developing the business so that it continues to thrive.

Alan’s favourite Luke Evans Bakery products are the bread and cobs, and he’s also partial to an Eccles cake and the custards.

“Luke Evans is a quality product. Out of everything, the bread and the cobs are my favourite. It’s a different product to mass-produced bread,” he added.

Now that he has retired, Alan, who lives in Ironville, Derbyshire, with his wife Carol, a midday supervisor at a Riddings Infant and Nursery School, plans to spend more time on his hobby of collecting wood for storing and burning, which he enjoys with his brother Malcolm.

“We’re obsessed with wood. Over the last four weeks we have fetched six tonne of weight in wood,” he added. “We have seven massive log stores.”

Chairman of Luke Evans Bakery David Yates said:

“Alan was always a very conscientious driver, and many of his van lads went on to have their own career with Luke Evans. He was famous for his level of customer care, visiting some of his best accounts twice a day, rather than the normal once."

“He has always been a valuable member of the team, and will be greatly missed by all those who worked alongside him. We wish him well in his retirement.”

Alan was presented with a Montblanc pen and a corporate hospitality day at Doncaster Races to mark his retirement.

Luke Evans Bakery has been a family bakers since 1804, and supplies both retail and catering customers across the East Midlands. It is one of the oldest family bakers in the country and operates 24 hours a day, producing high quality bread and cakes.