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my father started work at Beckenham in 1950 moving to the horse farm at Doncaster in 1955, I was born on that farm in 1958. We returned to Beckenham in 1965 and moved into the Coach house on the Beckenham site in 1967. lived there till early 80s. worked at Beckenham from 1976 survived both mergers until 2001 when GlaxoWellcome SOLD my contract to a facilities management company. Would never have happened in the Wellcome era. It was a caring company and the Unicorn stood for something very special. you will never see that in a pharmaceutical company again. I too believe a great company was brought to it's knee's by Mr Robb and the Trust!! Long live the memory of Wellcom!!!
Kevin Baker, GSK
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 17:11 |
I was in WFL and BW from 1979 until the year the Unicorn went. To me, the value of a symbol is how well recognised it is without the name underneath it. I remember when the veterinary business was sold they kept the logo because it was so recognisable. I have and will always keep everything I have with the Unicorn on it and be proud of what it represented.
Richard Crawley
Wednesday, July 01, 2009 22:39 |
I joined BWCO shortly before its move from Tuckahoe, NY to North Carolina. Garth Quinn invited me to dinner with a group of visiting sales reps. During dinner someone mentioned that there was a proposal to "modernize" the Unicorn symbol which we used. As the new guy I opined that that might update Wellcome's image a bit. Well I learned a lesson that night I shall never forget--the love and respect among those men showed for our symbol has to be one of the great testaments to corporate loyalty. And to this day I own and treasure my first "real" Unicorn pin and will always feel a great loss in its demise. BWCO was unique and is missed by all who were a part of it.
Thack Brown, BWCO
Monday, March 16, 2009 00:32 |
I had the privilege of working for Wellcome from 1974 until 2001. It was a terrible thing the Trust did to float the Company on the Stock Market and this was not what Henry Wellcome would have wanted. Wellcome was a very forward thinking company with spare capacity to take over another pharmaceutical company when, due to a low share price, it was taken over itself by Glaxo. It was a very friendly and good employer and the management and workforce worked well to improve the lot of the company. Attitudes changed with the merger and the company was never the same again. I am very sad that the Unicorn, of which I have a model of, has disappeared from our world but still look back in pride to what once was.
Robin Hergest, Wellcome Foundation
Tuesday, February 03, 2009 23:45 |
I am proud to say that I worked at Wellcome at Dartford. I served my apprenticeship as an electrician in 1985 and left in December 2000 due to Glaxo only wanting products and killing a great community. I hate what Glaxo did to all the old Wellcome sites. I hope John Robb, Wellcomes last CEO, and the Wellcome trust are proud of what they have achieved.
Kevin Bailey, Wellcome Foundation
Wednesday, December 03, 2008 13:58 |
During my years at BW Co., RTP, USA, I was educated in the corporate life of one of the most respected companies in the world. The leadership was excellent, and the respect shown to employees surpassed any company I have known since. I met my husband, Stan, at BW Co., and we both were saddened to see the company go to Wall Street. The unicorn will always be dear to me, representing the many friends with whom I met and learned to love, and the great education I received during my many years at RTP. GlaxoWellcome was an exciting place to work as well, but the family-type environment at BW was unique.
Christina Powell, BW Co., RTP, USA
Monday, July 07, 2008 01:26 |
I SPENT 22 YEARS OF MY CAREER WITH BWCo. Two of my daughters are with GSK, having started with BWCo. In fact, I had the pleasure of pinning my daughter Cindy with MY original Unicorn at her Avanced Training Class graduation! The BW Unicorn remains in a place of honor in our home. GSK may have dismissed the significance and honor of the unicorn, but those of us who lived and worked in BWCo will never do so. Former field staff of BWCo meet annually at Pensacola Beach! All are welcome.
DOUG REIFF
Sunday, February 24, 2008 19:24 |
The Unicorn was never actually GSK's logo, it was Burroughs Wellcome's logo. A minor distinction but an important one. I worked for BW for ten years and my Dad spent his career there. When my sisters and I were kids we never failed to buy Dad unicorn themed gifts for birthdays and Christmas - a lot of pride around that symbol for many years. It was sad to see it, and BW, dissapear.
Chris Burchall, Formerly with Burroughs Wellcome
Saturday, August 19, 2006 06:43 |
OMG this was Glaxo Smith Kline's previous logo?
ITS BEAUTIFUL!
Much more impressive than a stupid "gsk" in a weird ugly shape :P
http://www.gsk.com/pics/home_01.gif
brink back the Unicorn LONG LIVE THE UNICORN!
Mark J
Wednesday, October 12, 2005 20:31 |
Worked for Wellcome at Dartford from 1965 until 1996. Great, happy years with great people. Long live the unicorn.
Barry, Wellcome Pension Fund!
Saturday, September 03, 2005 15:53 |
I too miss the unicorn greatly and Burroughs Wellcome. However, I have found my own personal way of hanging on to that heritage. Any time I use the word welcome, it is and always will be spelled WELLCOME. As for RAP that Junk is called HISTORY moron.
Kerry, GSK
Thursday, April 07, 2005 21:27 |
Dear Stone Twins, I am grateful for you to put up this site so that we can all mourn the death of so many design classics.
Carol Leah Terriah, Vanier, Ont. Canada
Tuesday, February 08, 2005 15:25 |
Joined Wellcome Foundation at Dartford in 1984 and learnt everything I know; the best time of my life. I greatly valued the company ethics and the pride everyone had working for Wellcome. While the unicorn was the symbol that represented the healy properties; Glaxo have replaced it by a sick looking tablet with three letters that represents nothing. I am sure Sir Henry Wellcome is turning in his grave.
May his soul rest in peace.
As a member of Wellcome Hockey Club at Dartford we continue to use the Wellcome name and the Unicorn as our symbol and intend to keep it that way as regardless of what GSK think.
Surinder Bodwal, BBC
Sunday, October 03, 2004 15:12 |
Forty-odd years ago as a pharmacist
medical representative for BW, I was proud to wear this symbol as a lapel badge. I still keep it among my little treasured mementoes.
W.D. Emmett, Retired
Sunday, May 30, 2004 16:37 |
For many years the Unicorn was a beacon of reliance and comfort in my medicine cabinet. I miss him. Unicorn R.I.P.
Sarah C, Getty Images
Monday, January 05, 2004 12:37 |
Question of pride of nationality seems self-evident in that the "unicorn" rolled over and allowed gsk to eliminate any referent to British orgin. Still, a proud symbol, that.
L. Franklin, gsk
Saturday, December 20, 2003 06:18 |
Interesting point from below. BT is not called 'British Telecom', there is no British Steel (now Corus) and BP is called 'Beyond Petroleum' not 'British Petroleum'. Are we Brits not proud anymore to be British?
John Little, London
Monday, December 15, 2003 15:34 |
Unlike Mr Turner, I have no personal connection with any of the companies concerned, but I do think a more appropriate name could have been chosen for the new entity.
To me “Glaxo Beecham” would have made sense. It is more compact than GlaxoSmithKline and, with one name from each of the merging groups, should have been sufficient. Furthermore, retaining Beecham in the name would have kept the only British name of the five in the two merging groups. Glaxo came from New Zealand; Wellcome, Smith and Kline came from the United States.
Does the exclusion of Beecham hint at an anti-British sentiment among the hierarchy of the merged group? Perhaps there is no longer any pride in being British? What happened to the “Land of hope and glory”?
G. A. Kaye, FRPharmS (New South Wales, Australia)
Monday, December 15, 2003 13:45 |
As someone who first worked as a pharmacist for Burroughs in Dartford, then Burroughs Wellcome & Co, later the Wellcome Foundation Ltd, and left all of them long ago, I am saddened to see that the letters “gsk” on what appears to be an egg yolk is all that is left of the once proud, world-recognised blue unicorn.
The test will come in 30 years’ time: will anyone then write to your successor lamenting the passing of an initialled blob? I doubt it.
Mr J. L. Turner, MRPharmS, Hartley Wintney, Hampshire
Sunday, December 07, 2003 14:56 |
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