From Wikipedia:
“The Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society (RACS) was a large consumer co-operative based in south east London, England. The co-operative took its name from the Royal Arsenal munitions works in Woolwich and its motto was: “Each for all and all for each”. In 1985 it merged into the national Co-operative Wholesale Society.
Co-operative trading had been rooted in Woolwich and the Royal Arsenal since the mid 18th century.
The RACS was always one of the more political co-operative societies. Its motto was “Each for All and All for Each”; it employed a Political Secretary, published magazines and newspapers (such as Comradeship and The Wheatsheaf) and housed Basque refugees from the Spanish Civil War (see also Milk for Spain). The RACS supported the campaign for working-class political representation (see Labour Representation Committee) and the election of Will Crooks as MP for Woolwich.
In 1929, the RACS affiliated directly to the Labour Party, rather than to the Co-operative Party as was more usual for such societies. It also affiliated to the London Labour Party and various borough and local labour parties. As well as the usual co-op dividend to its customer-members, the RACS also paid a “bonus to labour” – for instance paying the tradesmen building the Bostall Estate a halfpenny an hour above the trade union rate. Overall control of the RACS rested with a full-time Management Committee elected by society members under proportional representation.
The RACS directly sponsored Labour Party candidates in several Parliamentary elections, many of whom were successful.
Some of the former RACS buildings and farms have survived and are protected as cultural heritage. Woodlands Farm Trust in Shooters Hill is a former RACS farm that was threatened by redevelopment in the 1990s and is now run by a community trust.
The two large landmark buildings at the west end of Powis Street in Woolwich are evocative of the co-operative movement that was such a major force in this town. The Neo-Victorian RACS Central Stores (125–153 Powis Street) has an 82 m long red brick and terracotta façade with a 32 m high copper-domed clock tower (with a clock by Gillett & Johnston). It was designed by the Society’s architect, Frank Bethell, and built in three phases: 1902–03, 1912 and 1926. Above the main entrance is a statue of the founder, Alexander McLeod, by Alfred Drury, and the society’s motto. In 2011–13 it was converted into a hotel with 120 rooms and shop units.
The RACS department store (138–152 Powis Street) was built in 1938–1940 in a streamlined Art Deco style. The large, metal-framed windows emphasise the horizontal lines in the faience-tiled gable, set between two end towers. The elegant east tower contains an open stairwell with wrought-iron railings with the letters ‘co op’ integrated in the design. The west tower is less pronounced and stands over an access road to Mortgramit Square. In 2013-16 it was converted into apartments (“The Emporium”), adding three recessed storeys on top of the restored building.
https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-opening-of-tower-house-1933-online
The former RACS store on Lewisham High Street with a decorative facade has now been converted to flats.
The Bostall Estate in Abbey Wood consists of over one thousand late-Victorian houses. The streets still bear co-operative-themed names, such as Owenite (after Robert Owen), Commonwealth, Rochdale (after the ‘Rochdale Pioneers’), McLeod and Will Rose (after founder-members Alexander McLeod and William Rose). The Progress Estate in Well Hall, Eltham, is a housing estate partly developed by Woolwich Borough, partly by RACS. The area was conceived as a garden city and is a conservation area since 1975.”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/bexleyboroughbygone/posts/2145123855775797/
Julia Upton 