17 Jan 2020
Muriel Taylor joined Pennard Vets in 1950 and, over the years, has worked in virtually every aspect of office work at the practice, though never in a clinical role.
David Woodmansey
Job Title
Muriel Taylor at work. Image: Pennard Vets.
Meet Muriel Taylor – one of the most remarkable people in the profession – who has just celebrated 70 years continuous employment at the same vet practice… and has no plans to retire just yet.
Mrs Taylor joined Pennard Vets, based in Sevenoaks, Kent, on 7 January 1950 – days after her 16th birthday.
Mrs Taylor was originally employed as office junior on a weekly wage of £1.10s (shillings), or £1.50 today. Over the years she has worked in virtually every aspect of office work at the practice, though never in a clinical role.
Described by her colleagues as “invaluable” and “irreplaceable”, the grandmother of two said the two biggest changes at the practice during her seven decades had been the business giving up farm work in favour of exclusive small animal work, and the transition from her handwritten notes – set down in immaculately kept ledgers – to modern computer systems.
One highlight of her employment at the practice was fielding telephone calls from former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, who lived at Chartwell country house, near Westerham, in Kent and employed the practice to look after the health of the black swans living on the estate’s lake.
Asked if she had any plans to retire, Mrs Taylor said: “I have thought about retirement, but, somehow, I still seem to keep going because I enjoy what I do.”
Client care manager Collette Rednall said: “Muriel is amazing at the age of 86. She’s still pretty canny and switched on.
“To have someone working for 70 years with the same company makes her pretty much invaluable. Muriel is at the heart of the team and is still deferred to by everyone because we just love having her here.”
