Baron Forte, as he was to become, worked in his relatives Italian cafe in my home town, Loanhead, on his arrival in Scotland from Italy. He expanded a tiny London milk bar (snack bar), which he opened in 1934, into Trusthouse Forte PLC, a vast international enterprise that included highway service centres, restaurants, airport caterers, breweries, wine merchants, and a string of accommodations that ranged from the moderate-priced Travelodge motel chain to such luxury hotels as London’s Waldorf and Grosvenor House.
Charles Forte's son, Rocco and his company Rocco Forte Hotels still run a chain of hotels throughout the world including The Balmoral on Princes Street, Edinburgh.
The first pic is the shop where it all started for Charles, in Loanhead High street, owned by, what I believe was his uncle, Alfonso.