Back in the year 1900, my grandfather Arthur Edgar Joyes decided to open a
small dry goods store in the town of Grays, Essex
about 40 miles east of London on the North shore of the Thames estuary
Papa died in 1948, and my Dad "Mr. Ron" (Ronald Marshall Joyes) took over the store until 1976
when he decided to close the store and retire. Largely because the store was in the industrial end of town,
and business for department stores of this type was moving to shopping centers, there were no buyers when
the store was offered for sale. 
 

joyes of graysjj

In its heyday, Joyes Ltd was the big store in town. People came from all over to shop there. A regular staff of 35 employees,
increased to 75 people during the busy times. For many years, particularly during World War II, an advertisement
for Joyes Ltd was featured every week on the front page of the Grays and Thurrock Gazette.

Many stories are told about the strange and lonely life of Ronal Marshall Joyes. By the time I was born in 1937
My mom and both my sisters Pamela and Pauline were not allowed to set foot in the store. As a boy,
I would often visit the store, but we didn't really get along. I often felt "in the way.

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