Not Exactly a Newcomer to Tankers T HE doyen of the
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British tanker operating fraternity must surely be 86-year-old Mr. John Horrocks, of Handforth, Cheshire, who is still a regular visitor to the Manchester headquarters of J. M. Horrocks and Sons, Ltd. Here, among other things, he casts his expert eye over the daily loading figures for the, vehicles and over the weekly fuel averages. He has been seen at many R.H.A. conferences, and was among those present last October in Blackpool.
The Horrocks family have a long connection with the Lancashire chemical industry. Back in 1897 young John also opened up in local transport with horses and barrel carts. He told me when we met recently how, following receipt of a contract inquiry in his early days, he had a 50-cwt. horsedrawn tank built. Being one with a practical eye, he had investigated the job on the spot and found that when fully laden the journey would be generally on a falling gradient. Thus he was able to budget for a much higher quantity than would normally have been the case and to reduce rates accordingly.
Championed Pay Rise
TT was John Horrocks who in 1900, when Manchester trans1 port drivers were calling for a standard wage of 24s. a week, had the temerity to stand up for them and to obtain substantial support among hauliers for granting the request. Although nobody else in the organization approaches Mr. Horrocks' length of service, the company has one man with a 45-year record of employment and another who has served 44 years.
Some time after Mr. John Horrocks had celebrated his diamond jubilee in the business, the staff decided to prepare for him a printed record of some of the outstanding incidents in his career and these, together with photographs, were bound into a volume entitled "This Is Your Life." It was presented at the company's drivers' dinner-dance last winter.
Under the Influence
AFEW days ago I was gratified to hear something of the influence which the pages of this journal have upon certain individuals. At a traffic court, a Blackpool haulier wanted to vary the conditions attached to his A-licensed vehicle, which he had bought from an elderly woman some 18 months previously. When admonished by Mr. L. Shelton, the Deputy Licensing Authority, for operating outside the conditions he said "Well, until a few weeks ago I did not know there were any such things as normal users. but then 1 started reading The Commercial Motor and found out they existed."
Asked why he had not made inquiries from the vendor as to the vehicle's user, he replied: "Well, she was a woman and over 60. She wouldn't have read The Commercial Motor so she wouldn't know,"
rnto Top Gear Now?
%/IAN who won't be lost for something to do in his retire ment is 67-year-old Mr. Cecil Granville Corfield, of ;ale, Cheshire, who this month leaves his job at the Ministry if Transport offices at Manchester. Since 1931 he has written nore than 30,000 " Letters to the Editor" and newspapers ind magazines can expect to be hearing from him many more imes in the future.
Why does he make these letters his hobby? "Why does nybody want to climb Everest?" he replies. His average? thout three letters a day.
I wonder how many editors have been tempted to reply to dr. Corfield: " Dear Sir, unless ..."?