B&Q's first ever employee visited the Taunton store to celebrate the company's 55-year anniversary.
Avril de Klerk was originally recruited by founders Richard Block and David Quayle in 1969.
She is a retired civil servant and took part in the local store's own 25th anniversary celebrations.
Reflecting on her employment at the first B&Q branch in Portswood Road, Southampton, Ms De Klerk said: "When opening day came it was quite exciting for me as I was so young, the only employee at the time!
"I wore a pink overall as uniform and mostly worked on the till adding up prices in my head as it was pre-decimalisation in multiples of 12."
Unit manager Paul Haylock, along with the entire Taunton team, welcomed Avril de Klerk.
They gifted her with an orange apron and name badge that read 'B&Q's first employee – 1969'.
She also acknowledged long-service awards for five Taunton employees:
- Simon Horsman - 35 years
- Sarah Battle - 25 years
- Pat Cornish - 25 years
- Trevor Lovell - 25 years
- Sam Martin - 15 years
- Rod Couchman - 24 years
B&Q now operates 300 stores across the UK, annually assisting over 20 million customers in home improvement, and employing over 26,000 colleagues.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here