Tomorrow will see the funeral of Micky Gaeton, a regular at this market for over 70 years, latterly as the owner of MG & Sons, a wholesaler on Buyers Walk. A few months ago, he reminisced with us about his time in the trade and we thought it would be a fitting way to mark his passing to give readers the opportunity to hear about Micky’s life and career in his own words.

“I started in the old Covent Garden market aged 14, in 1946, right at the bottom of the scale in the empties warehouse dealing with the chargeable boxes that got returned. Back in those days, boxes carried a certain repayment. Then I became a staff man at Barney Springer’s, where I was working in the actual workhouse offloading lorries and doing general work. It was a good firm to work for and I did really well there.

“Sometime in the ‘50s there was a strike and the labour force was reorganised. We were all issued with porters’ badges and life changed quite a bit for me. I would be delivering to various haulage lorries on the outside of the market and they in turn were delivering around the UK, as that’s how the market worked then.

“I got married and started to have children and soon realised that although a porter’s wage was OK, I just wasn’t earning enough to meet our family’s needs. I started to do other things with produce – taking a trolley or barrow and pulling it into Soho. There was always someone willing to buy it and quickly I was making decent money. I thought ‘if I could have my own van, I could go a bit further afield’ so that’s what I did. I learnt to drive, bought a cheap van and it went from there.

“I often didn’t know where I was going or who I was going to serve, but I soon found regular trade with Indian and Bangladeshi restaurant owners. They were excellent customers and very good at recommending me to different places, which allowed me to expand. Soon I needed a warehouse, so got my first premises in King’s Cross. Then the business really began to grow and I started to employ people. I was walking on air – making money I’d never seen before!

“At New Covent Garden, Fred Rowe was a friend of mine. He wasn’t everyone’s favourite as his business was big and competitive, but Fred always had time for me. I didn’t do business with him, but he advised me that if I wanted to go further than being a supplier to Indian restaurants, then I should move to the market.

“I moved to New Covent Garden Market in 1980. Things had gone well in King’s Cross, but Fred suggested that we would improve our status and give potential customers a bit more faith in our credentials. Without a doubt, he was right. We had made a good living doing the basics of our trade, but when we got to NCGM we became established and things improved again for us. We never reached the heights of Fred Rowe, but I never lost his friendship.

“Things progressed from there. My son Tony was in the business by this stage; It wasn’t always a happy relationship and we didn’t always see eye to eye. I lived the business and was never afraid of the early starts, the long hours and hard work or the affect it had on my social life. But Tony was a very young man when he joined and had an active social life. it was hard for me to convince him that he should be more dedicated to the regular hours of the business. I did get through to him though and he was instrumental in expanding the business a lot. He got on with people and had a lot of sway and that helped us pick up a lot of new customers.

“We employed quite a few people at one time and for many years, turnover was good and we were successful.

“Throughout most of my working life, my wife Sheila was my right hand – she was my everything. She came from the Sullivan family, whose market business was based in Neale Street and produced trolleys and barrows for the market’s porters. So she knew the market life. I didn’t meet her in the market though; Sheila’s sister was a florist so I knew her, but I met Sheila at a dance and we hit it off. We courted for 18 months, got married, had three children and lived happily ever after.

“Meeting her was so important for me. She did so much for the business, all of the clerical work, the accounts and the admin, as well as at home, and I could not have done anything without her.

“Unfortunately, Sheila got dementia and as she deteriorated, more and more of my time was spent looking after her. I couldn’t be in two places at once, so I spent much less time at work. Our chief salesman left the business and took a lot of the business with him. I never had contracts that would stop people doing that, which I probably should have done. I lost a bit of my interest after that, it was a difficult time.

“When Sheila died, that was it for me and I told Tony I wasn’t going to continue. I was surprised when he said he didn’t want to take on the responsibility and was going to live abroad – maybe I didn’t fight him hard enough – but the business really needed him to be there if it was to carry on, so we decided the time was right to sell up.

“I’ve had a good life and I loved every single minute I spent in Covent Garden. There was something about the market world that you just couldn’t compare with anywhere else. The old market was a very happy and jovial place to be. Because there were always public walking through, you were always in the middle of things and meeting lots of people. People would pour out of the West End and into the market pubs in the early hours and that was my world, some of the happiest times of my life.

“The new market never had quite the same aura – it never could as it was completely different. But it was still full of great people and I progressed further than I ever thought I would. I was at school during the war and didn’t go after the war at all so had no qualifications. My mum wanted me to work in the printing industry, but I was a fish out of water, couldn’t spell or do anything! When you came into Covent Garden then, you didn’t need a lot of brains. As long as you could count and book a load in, you had all you needed.

“When I employed staff, I had the good fortune to find people who were hard-working and loyal to me. Several of the office staff are still in touch now, even though I’m nearly 92 and I’m really grateful for that.

“I’ve got no complaints about anything. Coming to Covent Garden was the best thing I ever did.”

Both of Micky’s sons worked with him at the market. Tony sadly died last year - his brother Michael (Mick) told us:

“As a child, I remember getting up with Dad in the night and watching him make toast with a fork on an open stove before going to market.

“The long hours and early mornings were a tough life but my Dad was very happy in the market and he worked into his eighties.

“I have been told my Dad was hard but fair as a buyer. He knew when to give and take.

“He liked the people and the banter and was loyal to the market.

“He changed our surname in the 1970s but he was still getting shipments marked 'Micky Gay' 50 years later!

“He would still be getting up for market now if he could!

“May he rest in peace.”