IN an age when young people can expect to have a number of different careers during a working lifetime never mind various jobs Teresa Williams is a reminder of how it used to be.

On January 1, 1950 a 15-year-old girl then named Teresa Davies walked into F J Bodenham in Ludlow town centre to start her apprenticeship.

This Saturday she will leave for the last time after 62 years with the business.

But even this is not strictly true because Teresa will still be on call to provide Saturday relief cover.

It is a remarkable story that has seen her play a part in the development of one of Ludlow’s oldest businesses.

Even when Teresa joined the staff she was becoming part of a business that having been set up in 1860 had 90 years behind it.

Her first employers were Frederick and Alice Bodenham.

With two short breaks of maternity leave when her daughters were born she has served the Bodenham business ever since.

“Through this record period she has given outstanding loyalty and dedication to her work,” said Muriel Curry of Bodenham’s.

In more than 60 years Teresa has served in all departments, both ladies and menswear and is a familiar face for many long standing customers.