George Holden's two younger sons, Alfred and James, continued the family business until 1960. George’s eldest son, Tom, had joined the business in 1895 but died in 1923 leaving his two younger brothers with the challenge of running Paterson Street Mill and Havelock Mill in increasingly challenging times. Alfred was born in Chorley in 1887; the fourth child of George and Mary Ellen. His father had begun running ‘room and power‘ weaving rooms in Chorley in the early 1896. On leaving school Alfred went to work at Martin’s Bank. He spent several years at the bank before coming into the family business around about 1910. In 1914 he married into the wealthy Isherwood family. Redmayne & Isherwood Ltd owned a flax mill in Kirkham, near Preston and a cotton waste business within Commercial Mills, Blackburn. James was born in 1891. At 11 he went to Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School. On leaving school in 1906 he began work in the mill spending a year in year in weaving shed; a most valuable apprenticeship in preparation for taking over at Paterson Street. He married Mary Haslam, a school teacher, in April 1917. James ran Paterson Street Mill with Alfred running Havelock. Although in charge of two separate mills the brothers had a close working relationship. They went together every week to the Manchester Royal Exchange where they shared a pillar for buying and selling. They formed a strategic partnership to meet the difficulties of the declining cotton industry. They would aim to produce cloths of the highest quality, employing first class weavers. They would aim to sell to a few merchants only. These merchants would be medium-sized forms of high integrity, assured financial strength and known for their interest in quality goods. By supplying such merchants with quality goods at competitive prices and giving them excellent service, the brothers aimed to establish close links with their customers. The hope was that, in bad times, business would still be forthcoming from these houses.