Whisky.Auction reunites historic John Walker & Sons records with the Diageo Archive

The world-famous Diageo Archive is home to a new piece of Johnnie Walker history thanks to the work of auction house Whisky.Auction and willing donator Andrew Welford.

An historic ledger detailing the transfer of shares in the John Walker & Sons company during World War II was brought to the team at Whisky.Auction by Mr Welford who was looking for advice on the book’s significance and whether it was of value to anyone. Eagle-eyed auction director Isabel Graham-Yooll recognised the historic importance such a record and knew the value this could bring to the Diageo Archive.

She explains: “This is one of those artefacts that holds so much value to a company archive, but little value to an individual, and so it felt right to reunite the ledger with the company owners. We often see old documents and labels from private individuals coming up at auctions and sometimes they simply need to find the right home rather than make money.”

Diageo Archive Manager Christine McCafferty comments: “I was so pleased that this book has been reunited with our Archive collection for John Walker & Sons, which is our pride and joy. I cannot thank Andrew enough for his kind donation and Isabel for seeing the value of having items like this kept within the business which created them. It helps us to build a full picture of our story to date, and we certainly hope to find some interesting stories buried in the pages.”

The ledger was delivered to the Diageo Archive by Andrew Welford who, alongside Isabel Graham-Yooll, was given a tour of the archives and saw the book laid down in its new home.