Tony Hickson, the ‘King of Pickles’ Photo: CHRIS DAVEY/KENTISH GAZETTE

Tony Hickson, who has died aged 87, made his name as the “King of Pickles” in the food industry, after setting up his own company, Humber Pickles, in the 1950s; in the 1970s with the “Beetroot King” Jack Lowe, he was involved in a “reverse takeover” of the debt-ridden Hazlewood Foods, which they led through a period of rapid growth.

But, as he confessed in his memoir The Musical Pickle Man’s Tail, Hickson’s flair for business was accompanied by bouts of mental instability and difficulties in personal relationships which caused the breakdown of two marriages and the near collapse of the third, periods in psychiatric care and one suicide attempt.

By his own account Tony Hickson was conceived “across a pile of pickling onions” in May 1926 at a Hull pickling factory when the factory boss, Sydney Warden, took advantage of Tony’s mother, Olive Hickson, a 15-year-old worker at the plant. Expelled from the family home for conceiving her child out of wedlock, she gave birth on February 16 1927 in the West Hull workhouse.

Tony was transferred to the care of his maternal grandmother and step-grandfather, a casual dockworker, and it was only when he was about 10 that he discovered that the woman he thought of as his sister was, in fact, his mother. His father, meanwhile, had lived for some years in Denmark managing a pickle works for Crosse & Blackwell before returning to Hull where, after the war, he set up his own onion pickling business in a run-down area of the city.

After leaving school, Tony Hickson volunteered for service in Bomber Command and trained as a flight mechanic, but was discharged from the service after an incident when, in his sleep, he nearly throttled a fellow serviceman sleeping in the next door bed, while dreaming that he had found his girlfriend with another man.

After the war he joined his father in the pickling business and helped him to expand and diversify into products such as piccalilli and sandwich spread. He was furious when his father sold the business without telling him (he recalled that when his father died his widow had tried to persuade Tony to sign a document “for and on behalf of an unknown number of illegitimate half-brothers and half-sisters, the children of Sydney Warden Esquire” under which he undertook to make no claim on his estate).

Although Hickson agreed to stay on as manager, the new owner made his life impossible, and the business soon failed. In 1950 he set up his own business, Humber Foods, which, over the next 20 years, he developed into the largest privately-owned pickle company in the country.

As chairman of the pickles and sauces section of the Food and Drink Federation, Hickson became involved in negotiations with Brussels after Britain’s entry into the EEC, although he found it tragic that so much time was wasted deciding “what size and colour a pickled gherkin should be or how much spice should be in a jar of red cabbage”. He was particularly irritated by the imposition of “sell-by” dates on pickles which improve the longer they are kept.

The reverse takeover of Hazlewood Foods in 1977 allowed Hickson to trade as a PLC under the Hazlewood name and the company expanded rapidly through a series of takeovers. By the mid-1980s it had become a highly-rated “glamour stock” and was considering making a bid for Northern Foods. Following disagreements with fellow board members, however, Hickson took early retirement in 1986 . Later he began his own business consultancy.

From his school days Hickson had been passionate about classical music, and from the 1970s he served as a member of the board, and later chairman and president, of the Hull Philharmonic Orchestra. He sponsored stars such as Paul Tortellier and Segovia to play with the orchestra, and in the late 1980s came to its rescue during a time of financial crisis.

Throughout his life, however, Hickson (who at various times sported a waxed moustache à la Hercule Poirot) had suffered from mood swings and severe bouts of mental instability, which he blamed, in part, on the concussion he had suffered as a result of a sporting accident at school (in later life he was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy).

One manifestation of his disturbed state was his inability to remain faithful to one woman. Having, as he put it, “ruined two marriages and left everyone devastated”, he married, thirdly, in 1960, Audrey Zweierzchowska. That marriage, too, nearly came unstuck in the late 1980s when he began an affair with the concert pianist Annette Servadei. After a long period of blowing hot and cold, during which Audrey initiated divorce proceedings , he managed to patch up his marriage before Audrey succumbed to cancer in 2003.

Tony Hickson’s closest relationships were with his dogs, and in later life, after moving to Kent, he became a familiar figure in the streets of Canterbury, riding a mobility scooter with his Great Dane, Daisy, running alongside.

With his second wife, Jean, Hickson had two daughters; with his third wife, Audrey, he had a son and a stepdaughter.

Tony Hickson, born February 16 1927, died July 21 2014

The introduction of a food crime unit, recommended by Professor Chris Elliott in his report, is to be welcomed (Food scandals: protection money, Editorial, 5 September), as is the government’s new found commitment to fighting food crime. Hopefully the government’s aim to shrink the state and encourage self-regulation will not cause the new FCU to flounder. Our recent research demonstrates that food crime in the meat sector is serious and organised, but the supply-chain dynamics mean that the organisers are those who have legitimate access to the markets in order to place adulterated products. These offenders do not conform to our usual stereotypes of organised criminals, as many have a legitimate role in the supply chain/marketplace.

It is not until we have a much more sophisticated understanding of the dynamics of food adulteration and contamination and market/supply chain dynamics that it will be possible to ensure food safety. This can only be enhanced by an FCU that has both investigative teeth and powers of prosecution, otherwise it will go the same way as many specific crime-focused agencies have in the past; as a an extension to the “empire” of whatever the national agency is that is responsible for tackling organised crime.
Jon Spencer Senior lecturer in criminal justice, Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice, School of Law, University of Manchester, Professor Roy Goodacre Professor of biological chemistry, School of Chemistry and Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, Dr David Ellis Senior experimental officer, School of Chemistry and Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester

• The battle to offer lower prices to shoppers is incentivising sharp practices in the food industry, and the key recommendation of an independent inquiry is for a new food crime unit “to fight criminals cashing in on supermarkets’ determination to minimise the prices they pay to suppliers” (Growing threat of new food scandal, 5 September). No mention of the disastrous race to the bottom in the food and farming sector caused by the consumerist fantasy of ever-reducing food prices. It almost makes you nostalgic for New Labour. Tough on crime, and tough on the causes of crime.
Chris Smaje
Frome, Somerset

• The horsemeat scandal is finally moving towards some kind of finishing line with the publication of the Elliott report. There are signs that the government will take up its main recommendations, which is welcome. There is also hope that adequately resourced initiatives might go some way to restoring some public confidence in our food supply. But strengthening the systems against food adulteration fails to address an underlying problem – even perhaps an indirect cause – of the scandal: the progressive alienation of shoppers from food producers. Our food shopping is increasingly devoid of human contact. We don’t encounter the people who produce the food we eat. We rely on brands and labels. The supply chain is opaque. To engage shoppers we really need to promote local food bought from markets, farm shops and independent outlets, which come mostly from short and simple supply chains. The human connection between shoppers, shopkeepers and producers builds trust in the product, while feedback and human relationships support quality, as well as a better understanding of where and how food is produced.

Professor Elliott rightly recognises the “enormous importance” of shorter supply chains and the sourcing of locally produced foods. There is, therefore, no better time for all political parties to promote the diversification of food retail and shorten and simplify food supply to deliver the deeper changes that are needed.
Graeme Willis
Senior rural policy campaigner, Campaign to Protect Rural England

• The government’s plans for a food crime unit and new laboratories to combat future food scares is merely papering over the cracks of a broken system. The reforms seek only to catch abuse in our supply chains once the damage has been done and there are still no controls in place to ensure supply chain managers are professional, licensed and competent.

When we surveyed supply chain professionals earlier this year, 51% said the horsemeat scandal has not led to supply chain risk being taken more seriously and only 21% of supply chain professionals could guarantee there was no malpractice in their supply chains. We must empower supply chain managers within their own organisations if we are to make real progress.

We already ask our members to self-regulate as we call for a licence for procurement and supply management professionals. Without it, we are going to see a re-run of supply chain mismanagement with devastating consequences.
David Noble
Group CEO, Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply

The council of the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology, Europe’s leading international society for the archaeological study of the post-medieval period, is writing to voice its strong support for the Art Fund’s Save the Wedgwood Collection fundraising appeal, as recently highlighted in your newspaper (Report, 2 September). While there is likely to be broad appreciation for the collection’s artistic importance, its international importance to post-medieval archaeology may be less well known. Among post-medieval archaeology’s core areas of interest are the study of such topics as artefacts of the post-1500 modern world, globalisation and the spread of capitalism, and the industrial revolution. The Wedgwood collection is a priceless research resource for all of these issues. Wherever post-medieval archaeologists work on sites dating to the later 18th and 19th centuries – whether in Great Britain, Ireland, and Europe, or further afield in North America, South America, Africa, Australasia, or even the desert oases of the Persian Gulf – one of the most common and important artefact types we recover are the British ceramic types pioneered, produced, and inspired by Josiah Wedgwood and his successors.

The loss of this important research collection would therefore have a devastating impact not just on the artistic heritage of Britain, but also on period research in the humanities internationally. In keeping with our goal of supporting relevant research, the SPMA has made a modest donation to the campaign in the welcome knowledge that the first £500,000 of donations will be matched. Individual council members have also made donations, and we hope that your readers will likewise lend their support to this important cause.
Dr David Caldwell President,
Nick Brannon Vice-president
Dr Alasdair Brooks Independent Researcher, Dubai
Stuart Campbell National Museums Scotland
Dr Vicky Crewe University of Cardiff
Emma Dwyer University of Leicester
Dr Kate Giles University of York
Prof Audrey Horning FSA Queen’s University, Belfast
Nigel Jeffries Museum of London Archaeology
Brian Kerr FSA, FSA Scot English Heritage
Dr Chris King University of Nottingham
Dr Laura McAtackney University College, Dublin
Kerry Massheder-Rigby University of Liverpool
Dr Sarah May Heritage for Transformation
Dr Natascha Mehler University of Vienna
Dr Hilary Orange University College London
Jacqui Pearce FSA Museum of London Archaeology
Dr Beverly Straube Jamestown Rediscovery, Virginia
Dr Hugh Willmott FSA University of Sheffield
SPMA council members

A spokeswoman for the mighty BBC tells Charlotte Higgins (Composers condemn ‘patronising’ BBC, 3 September) that the BBC Proms’ producers “have to bear in mind the audience” when choosing which Prom concerts to televise; and that “newer works are often less familiar”. Is someone paid good wages to write that sort of guff?

Serious questions about the programming of uncompromising “contemporary” music (often referred to by orchestral musicians as “squeaky gate music”) require more thoughtful evasion than this spokeswoman is capable of. Who decided, for example, that John Wilson’s Proms performance of Cole Porter’s Kiss Me Kate should warrant only two short clips in Katie Derham’s television show? Not “familiar” enough for broadcast? And did nobody notice that living composer Roxanna Panufnik had created a most astonishingly topical, and accessible, composition that absorbed Christian, Jewish and Islamic musical traditions, to tell the story of Abraham and Isaac? Her Three Paths to Peace would have made an even more powerful comment if it had been broadcast after the evening news from Gaza. But it wasn’t.
Tony Staveacre
Blagdon, Somerset

• What a pathetic response by “a BBC spokeswoman” to criticism about the lack of contemporary music televised from the Proms. It can be dangerous to presume everything done in the past was better but one thing I know is that when I worked at the BBC we believed a vital part of our role was to encourage the audience to view, experience and appreciate works they might never otherwise have come across, in all art forms. If we had gone by the BBC’s current philosophy, then some of the most memorable arts programmes, now regarded as classics, would never have been made.
Diana Lashmore
Former executive producer, Music and Arts, BBC TV, London

• The problem is that it’s virtually impossible to write interesting new music for an ensemble combining conventional instrumentation that has scarcely changed in 250 years, and whose players have rigidly defined roles and playing styles – particularly since it already has a rich repertoire of undisputed masterpieces, and players who are so remarkably adept at performing it. It is not enough to write music that is merely “approachable” or “accessible”: composers need to write with a passion to express and communicate their ideas, and that means working with musicians who share that passion and can contribute creatively to its expression. The standard European symphony orchestra – whatever its undoubted glories – is not the ideal vehicle for this!

Britain’s demographic is changing. This means not only a wider and more diverse audience, but an ever-expanding range of other musical styles, instruments and above all musicians to draw on – thus opening up opportunities hitherto unimaginable for contemporary composers. Music which is exciting, original and properly expresses the spirit of Britain today may even also tickle the ears of broadcasters – and TV Proms transmissions are not the only outlet.
Tony Haynes
Grand Union Orchestra, London

Steve Rose (Strike force, G2, 5 September) apparently hasn’t noticed the difference between an Ealing comedy and the much sharper Boulting brothers comedies like I’m All Right Jack, which rather damages his credibility writing about British films. As for American films, it was good of Ken Loach to make the only film about union struggles in the US, as though the seminal Salt of the Earth and later films such as Matewan and Harlan County USA had never been made. Given the preference for continental Europe in Guardian film criticism, I’m rather surprised Rose hasn’t heard of Bo Widerberg’s Joe Hill – after all, it’s Swedish, even though its hero became an American union leader. And it’s rather sad that the article continues the cold-shouldering of The Happy Lands, last year’s British film about Scottish miners in the general strike.
John Wilson
London

After all the commemorations of the centenary of the first world war, I am astonished that the 75th anniversary of the outbreak of the second world war on 3 September has merited not a mention in the national media. My father’s generation included many who inclined to pacifism but volunteered for a just war, to defeat fascism. He survived but many of his comrades didn’t, nor did millions of noncombatants in many countries. We should honour them.
Dr Jane Darke
Oxford

• While not belittling Warrior’s record in the first world war (Medal for war horse, 3 September), it should be pointed out that as he was an officer’s horse he was brought back home and lived to a ripe old age in comfortable conditions. Hundreds of other horses that served equally bravely were sold on, in France and other theatres of war, to suffer uncertain fates. One of the results of this was the foundation of The Brooke, the charity which today supports working equines in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.
Alison Harris
Harrogate, North Yorkshire

• I use my whisky tin to keep knitting needles tidy. Please take note Brooks Newmark (Letters, 5 September).
Susan Tibbits
Bromsgrove, Worcestershire

• If the original meaning of feisty refers to excessive flatulence, then it’s not an inappropriate term to describe people (Letters, 5 September). Just attend a yoga class to discover why.
Sue Johnson
Worcester

• Thanks Kathy Lette for a reminder of the genius of Spike Milligan (Comment, 4 September) and the new memorial. There is already a permanent memorial to Spike: his grave at St Thomas’s Church in Winchelsea, East Sussex, with the legendary “I told you I was ill” inscription. A lovely, peaceful sight in perfect country church grounds.
Ted Heath
Birmingham

• Thank you, Guardian, for a front-page photo two days in a row to make us smile over our morning coffee (Ebola nurse out of hospital, 3 September, and Goon but not forgotten, 4 September).
Sue and Robin Hoar
Teddington, Middlesex

The poor reputation of care homes may well be undeserved, though more could be done

Sir, I have visited many care homes over the years and I have almost always been impressed by the patience, tolerance and compassion of the staff caring for residents, some of whom can be very difficult at times and others, occasionally, frankly aggressive (“Old people turn to ‘lonely’ care homes only as final resort”, Sept 3).

Any case of abuse is, of course, inexcusable and 7,654 cases reported over a year is dreadful. That said, with 450,000 people in care homes at present, this means that 1.7 per cent of that population has reported abuse. Even if one adds an element for unreported abuse, it seems clear that the great majority are not abused, so the poor reputation of care homes may be undeserved.

The challenge is how to work out which homes will provide high-quality care for a relative who may now be completely unmanageable at home with severe dementia or double incontinence.

Some of us have been arguing for years that there should be an annual survey of care home residents — and/or their relatives — measuring their experience of care and their quality of life. I believe that this would generally produce positive figures, but certainly the published results should enable people to make a more informed choice.

Dr Andrew Vallance-Owen

Barnet, Herts

Sir, Your report (Sept 3) gives a bleak snapshot of just some of the issues facing our rapidly ageing society. Older people left languishing in hospital wards, fears of poor care in care homes and the risk of neglect or abuse — the Demos and Age UK reports make for grim reading. As the Demos report found, some providers are evolving and great care does exist. We are aware of the many concerns facing the older people of today and the future. However, the underlying theme with these reports seems to be that the government is not.

The government, care providers and the NHS need to work together to ensure that a crisis in social care is averted. This can only be achieved with representation at the highest level of government. In 2011, 137,000 people signed the petition for a Minister for Older People to be appointed — which was handed to No 10. The case for change is stronger than ever, and action is long overdue.

Jane Ashcroft

CEO, Anchor, and commissioner, Commission on Residential Care

Sir, With regard to the King’s Fund report (“Elderly must pay more for better care system”, Sept 4), I have spent a career trying — with varying degrees of success — to bridge the gap between health and social care. It is clear to me that both agencies are keen, indeed actively seek, to co-operate for the good of their patient/client. The stumbling block has always been the fractured funding system between monies raised locally and governed by locally elected council members, and that driven from central government.

Experience tells me that if we crack this funding question, the rest will be easy. For too long we have had to work in a system which is confusing not only to those receiving care but to the very people working within it.

Christina Sell

Managing director, Langton Care

Sir, The report by the Commission on Residential Care A vision for care fit for the 21st century describes the negative perceptions associated with the term residential care, and instead uses the term “housing with care” as it “encapsulates the entire spectrum of options from care homes to extra care villages and supported living apartments”.

This creates various problems. As things stand, the term “housing with care” (also known as extra care housing) is typically used to differentiate between a housing model, in which care is available around the clock, and a residential care model. As the report makes clear, a housing model offers distinct benefits, as well as being funded and regulated differently.

Until such time as the report’s recommendations become reality, and care homes become more like genuine housing with care, using the term “housing with care” when referring to residential care creates considerable confusion. It also risks having the opposite effect from that intended, transferring the negative perceptions of residential care onto housing with care.

Sue Garwood

(Extra care specialist)

Royston, Herts

Views of Scotland from outside range as widely as those within the country

Sir, Over the past year I have found myself moving towards being a Yes supporter. I am English, so this is academic, but the more I examine where England is as a nation, the more I am appalled at the failure of socio-economic neo-liberalism that creates a tiny powerful elite while marginalising everybody else.

From housing to welfare to justice, to education to economic fairness we in England are morally skewered. That Scotland has a chance to shake off the legacy of elitism and exclusion is fantastic. In doing so I hope Scotland provides the radical mind shift that we in England so desperately need to embrace fairer ways of doing things.

The earthquake that would come from Scottish independence would force us to rightly look at ourselves and what we truly stand for.

Gerard Brown

London W2

Sir, Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown heading the No campaign? Where are the English politicians telling Scotland why we want them, why we need them and why they should stay with us?

Leslie Howard

St Albans

Sir, Listening to the Yes campaign one might think that Scots are an oppressed people living in poor conditions. But our island is a haven of freedom and relative prosperity which people risk their lives to join. What sort of paradise do the Scots think they can create by this messy, expensive and divisive divorce?

Professor Robert Elkeles

Northwood, Middx

Sir, It defies logic that Scotland might retain the pound. It would remain hugely dependent on the remaining UK government’s economic policy but without any representation. It is better off now.

Michael Old

Poole, Dorset

Sir, With this recent defection of a Conservative MP to Ukip, the upcoming Scottish referendum and a possible future referendum on EU membership, it is not conceivable that in the near future we could be out of the European Union while Scotland is in.

Dan Green

Ewell, Surrey

Sir, I have, like most in England, only had a passing interest in the Scottish referendum but I would be keen to know what the chances are of keeping “English” Summer Time throughout the year if the Scots decide to depart, as I am certain it would improve the road safety of the inhabitants south of the border.

It would be left to the Highland dairy industry to plead directly with Alex Salmond for their historical light-saving advantage that we have afforded them in the past.

Stephen Williams

Saffron Walden

Sir, Clare Harbord (letter, Sept 4) claims that an extra runway at Heathrow would provide sufficient capacity until 2040, and that this would match Amsterdam and Paris.

What she fails to mention is that those airfields have surplus capacity in the form of more than three runways. A three-runway Heathrow operating close to capacity would result in even greater disruption when there were delays caused by fog or incidents that temporarily closed a runway. A modern international airport needs a spare runway that can be brought into operation at short notice. Without this, delays and cancellations are inevitable every time that anything disrupts the perfect flow of air traffic.

Captain Will Steynor (British Airways, retired)

South Brent, Devon

Sir, It is indeed true that e-cigarettes can help established smokers to stop smoking (report, Sept 5). However, they deliver pure nicotine and it is now understood that nicotine is a “gateway” drug that lowers the threshold in the body for taking other addictive substances, notably cannabis and cocaine. This effect is biological, not emotional.

It follows that because of the danger of non-smokers, especially young people, experimenting in the false belief that e-cigarettes are safe, great caution should be exercised in their regulation and sale.

Professor Sir Denis Pereira Gray

(Past chairman, Academy of Medical Royal Colleges), Exeter

Sir, If Scotland votes for separation and then applies to share the pound in a currency union, surely the rest of us in the remainder of the UK have the democratic right to have our say on whether we are willing to share sterling with the new state. In such post-referendum circumstances, we must be given the earliest opportunity to vote on this issue, which is of fundamental importance to us all. Indeed it is hard to see how any government of the remaining UK would have a mandate to negotiate on a question of such magnitude without a vote having taken place.

P Carden

Thetford, Norfolk

Sir, Hugo Rifkind (Times2, Sept 4) makes an important point about the absence of positive feeling for those campaigning against independence. Of course it seems much more exciting to be voting “Yes” to something. Isn’t it time for the “No” campaign to be emphasising the positives for keeping the union, rather than all the negatives?

Dr Roger Kennedy

Twickenham

Sir, The question “Should Scotland be an independent country?” is ambiguous. Scotland is already independent — with a legitimate government, its own law, education and sports teams, etc. A “Yes” vote could be deemed a vote for keeping the status quo of an independent country within the Union. But better ask Brussels — they handle Unions.

Alex Mackinnon

Dollar, Clackmannanshire

What should schools do, exactly, with the final few weeks of the summer term?

Sir, At my school in the 1960s the weeks before the end of term in July were put to good use (letters, Sept 2 & 4). Those going into the sixth form were prepared for the following term. Most useful of all was a programme for the school leavers that covered bank accounts and managing your money, cooking on a budget, public speaking, the importance of using your vote, time management and looking after your health. Perhaps this is now all covered in the curriculum, but it was invaluable at the time.

Lucinda Morrison

Emsworth, Hants

Sir, Perhaps cricket matches should be introduced in the first half of the autumn term rather than in the summer term (letter, Sept 3). The weather at this time of year is often still and warm, and this year looks to be no exception. I grew up on the North East coast, where my love of sport was severely tested by trying to catch a cricket ball in freezing temperatures in April and having my bones crushed on rock-hard rugby pitches in September.

John Williams

London SE9

Sir, Your leading article on Hong Kong’s political reform (Sept 2) is misleading. Since the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, the central government has upheld the principle of “one country, two systems” and strictly followed the Basic Law in handling Hong Kong-related matters. Hong Kong has therefore enjoyed a high degree of autonomy.

The colonial rule of Britain’s unelected governors gave Hong Kong no democracy. By contrast, the Chinese government initiated the process to elect a chief executive through universal suffrage, which was later inscribed in the Basic Law.

The decision by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee a few days ago marks an important milestone for Hong Kong’s democratic progress. For the first time in Hong Kong’s history, a chief executive can be elected through one person, one vote. It will not only advance Hong Kong’s democracy and political process but will fuel Hong Kong’s continued prosperity.

Miao Deyu

Chinese Embassy, London W1