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Photograph of the first Milk Marketing Board meeting at Thames House, London on 6th October 1933.
In 1932, a Government commission was set up investigate the dairy industry, and It decided that there was an urgent need for an organisation to stabilise the market. That organisation was the Milk Marketing Board. Set up in October 1933, the Board originally worked out of Millbank, London.
The initial task of the MMB, when it was set up in the 1930s, was to stabilise the milk market, thereby giving more bargaining power to the small farmer. As a co-operative, it was the largest agricultural model of its kind in British history.
Funded and run by farmers, the MMB encompassed every dairy farm and milk producer in the country, as well as acting as a contact between the producers and every buyer. The MMB had a two-tier pricing system: farmers were paid more for milk that was going to be sold as liquid, and less for milk that was going into cheese production. Month by month an average price was struck and every farmer was sent a cheque.
In the late 1930s, as the MMB’s role was solidified, work began on a new building, large and open plan that could double up as a hospital during national emergencies. Located in Thames Ditton, this new headquarters would come to be the home of the MMB for over 50 years.
View of the Milk Marketing Board buildings in Thames Ditton, taken on Christmas Day 1995.
View of the Milk Marketing Board buildings in Thames Ditton, taken on Christmas Day 1995.
View of the Milk Marketing Board buildings in Thames Ditton, taken on Christmas Day 1995.
View of the Milk Marketing Board buildings in Thames Ditton, taken from the road on Christmas Day 1995.
View of the Milk Marketing Board buildings in Thames Ditton, taken on Christmas Day 1995.
The north quadrangle of the Milk Marketing Board, Thames Ditton. There is a grassed area in the foreground, upon which there is a blossoming tree to the left and a large bush to the right, separated by a path. Taken in 1994.
The main staircase at the Milk Marketing Board, Thames Ditton, taken from the mid-landing, looking partially down the first flight of stairs and up the second to the first floor offices. Taken in 1994.
Photograph of the main staircase at the Milk Marketing Board, Thames Ditton, taken from the ground floor hall looking up the first flight of stairs to a table with a flower arrangement, under a portrait, on the mid-landing. Taken in 1994.
Photograph of a staircase at the Milk Marketing Board, Thames Ditton. The photograph has been taken from a landing between two flights of stairs and is looking up the stairs to the left. Taken in 1994.
Photograph of the first floor landing, of the main staircase, at the Milk Marketing Board, Thames Ditton. The stairwell is in the centre and the area surrounding it is tiled with glass. Several pillars can be seen. Taken in 1994.
The main restaurant in the north range of the Milk Marketing Board, Thames Ditton. The area is open plan and filled with long tables, each surrounded by chairs. Taken in 1994.
The first floor west end coffee lounge, in the North range, comprising two large rooms, each with grouped low tables and chairs, at the Milk Marketing Board, Thames Ditton. Taken in 1994.
The North range, first floor west end coffee lounge, being a large, open plan room filled with grouped low tables and chairs at the Milk Marketing Board, Thames Ditton. Taken in 1994.
The director's conference room, second room from the main staircase west side in the East range, north end, on the first floor, at the Milk Marketing Board, Thames Ditton. Taken in 1994.
The first floor board room in the central range of the Milk Marketing Board, Thames Ditton. The room is dominated by a large horseshoe-shaped table around which there are many chairs. Taken in 1994.
The first floor board room in the central range of the Milk Marketing Board, Thames Ditton. Taken in 1994 when the MMB closed down.
Speaking in 1986, the MMB’s Public Relations Officer – Mr. Chapman – described the company’s move from central London to Gigg’s Hill, in Thames Ditton, in 1939:
“With the declaration of war, the new building was occupied in a hurry; filing cabinets that had once filled the Board’s Millbank premises were piled into milk lorries and carted south to Thames Ditton. Anyone due to work in the new building was required to wear a hard hat when entering: construction work was still taking place, the steps leading into the entrances were not completed and a plank was the only way in.”
1953: The Ministry of Food hands back complete control to the MMB upon the ending of rationing.
1958: The first year of ‘The Milk Race’ – the MMB's sponsorship of the Tour of Britain.
1962 – The MMB is used as a model for international cooperatives. Its advisory boards are made available to other countries, and agricultural officials from India are invited to London by the MMB.
Late 1970s: Sales indicate that supermarkets are taking over from milk home delivery systems.
1987: Dairy Crest is made a separate company, detached from the MMB.
1991: John Gummer, the Minister of Agriculture declares: “I remain committed to encouraging the industry to make progress for ending the MMB’s statutory monopoly”.
1993: The MMB’s sponsorship of the Tour of Britain ends. At 35 years, ‘The Milk Race’, as it became known, was the longest cycle sponsorship in the UK ever.
1st November 1994: The MMB dissolves.
Summer 1996: Dairy Crest is floated on the UK stock market.
2000: 'Milk Marque', the voluntary cooperative set up to replace the MMB, disbands.
2012: Thousands of European farmers violently protest outside the EU headquarters in Brussels against low milk prices.
October 2012 : UK dairy farms march in protest against milk prices. On average, farmers lose 7p for every litre of milk produced.
August 2015: Milk prices continue to fall. The ‘Milk Trolley Challenge’ and the ‘Milk Bucket Challenge’ – both protests against milk prices – make the national news.
September 2015: Protests once again erupt in Brussels outside the EU's headquarters.
February 2016: ‘Milk’, the first of Elmbridge Museum's exhibitions exploring the history of the MMB, opens at Dittons Library.
