It’s 1946 and the Second World War has just come to an end. But for two young RAF men, a n ew mission is about to take off. Charles Barker and Alex Stonehouse both started work at Binns - the region's top department store at the time - before they set about creating a furniture store aimed at delivering a little pizzazz to a weary post-war Britain and opened their first store in Stockton on Tees.