WHO remembers the shopping scheme that brought you free gifts – when you had collected the relevant number of Green Shield Stamps?

Maybe you saved them, or stuck them in the book for your mum, and then enjoyed the benefits of a new toaster, or set of towels.

The scheme first began in 1959 and 10 years later, seven out of 10 housewives collected them avidly.

Green Shield Stamps were offered by a whole range of retail outlets, such as petrol stations, furniture shops, supermarkets, and opticians.

To boost business, many traders would have special offers, such as double, or even quadruple, stamps for cash purchases of petrol over £4, or 100 extra when buying a fresh chicken. Millions of stamps were saved every year and more than seven million gifts were distributed in 1968 alone. Although there were gift houses dotted around the country, postal redemption accounted for 125 mailbags a week that year.

Indeed, during 1968, nearly twice as many Green Shield Stamps were cashed, as stamps sold by the Post Office.

Housewives would always look for the Green Shield sign while out shopping , knowing they would be able to eventually get a gift from a range covering the home, the family, the garden, and holidays.

The stamps brought a whole new meaning to shopping, with people knowing that by filling another book they would be able to have the hair drier they always wanted by the end of the month.

Groups and charities benefited, too, with members clubbing their books together to buy such diverse items as hymn books, even church bells, wheelchairs, or sports equipment.