He had initially qualified as a Master Jeweller in the 1920's and had a jewellery/watch repair business in Rotherhithe. Having qualified in optics he sold his jewellery business, but still carried on in his spare time repairing watches at home for companies such as Samuels. He was exempted from war duties due to his work repairing instruments for government agencies. In 1897 Mr HW Freeman, a jeweller/optician set up a business at 103 Main Road, Sidcup. James Collett purchased the practice in 1942, JE Collett thus developed both practices, whilst conducting additional consultancy work at Kolster Brands TV (subsequently ITT Communications) and becoming the sessional optometrist to Queen Mary's Hospital eye department, working for many years with Oliver Walker and Miss Irene Gregory. By the mid 1950's both his sons - Jim and Michael - had qualified as optometrists nd JE Collett could start to relax and share the development of the practices. Jim Collett took over the sessional work at Queen Mary's for the next 23 years and Michael took over the consultancy work at ITT until their recent re-location. In 1957 Passey Place in Eltham was not the bustling road that we now know. A house builder (JG Brand) and his yard occupied the present Argos site. The Colletts moved the practice from Middle Park Avenue to a suite of rooms above the builders. Neighbours were a dentist, a solicitor, a surveyor, the main Eltham post office and a cinema (the ABC Palace, where Clarke's shoe shop now stands). The 1960's saw a dramatic redevelopment of Passey Place. Caters the food store purchased the site where Brand's the builders stood and developed the site on which Argos now stands. In 1964 a surveyor (Albert Selves) purchased 43 Passey Place and offered the Collett family a rear room on the ground floor in order to continue the practice. This was agreed and 10 years later the Colletts took over the whole of the ground floor. Jim and Michael, with the invaluable assistance of JE Collett (who practised up to his 81st year, dying in 1986) continued to develop both practices up to the mid-1980's. Their success necessitated an expansion of their services and they were joined in 1986 by Colin Collett (one of Jim's sons). Extensive spending on the latest optometric equipment, training and examination techniques, along with a major refurbishment, has brought us to the situation we see the practices in today, a thriving, ethical, professionally run family concern with over 20 staff.
