Richa rton Brittain
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SOUTH BENFLEET, basking in warm sunshine, was like a sleepy Mid-Western township. And the man I went to meet has the soft voice and quiet, unassuming manner one would expect to find in such tranquil surroundings. But appearances can be so deceptive . . . first impressions so wrong ... as all who know Richard Barton Brittain will agree. He's a human dynamo—supercharged.
I met him on a working day, in his working rig; jacket off, sleeves rolled up, waistcoat unbuttoned. There's no " side " about the managing director of Essex Carriers, Ltd. So typical, 1 suppose, of a man who has thrived on adversity. And typical too of a man who was born near the Kennington Oval. Not exactly within the sound of Bow Bells. But a good Cockney . . . and proud of it. Even though his voice now has a soft Essex burr.
Dick Brittain's father was a builder. Young Dick was, too, at one time. He still is in fact, helping to build a better future for hauliers through his many Road Haulage Association activities. When he left the City of London School he was trained as an architect and he joined his father's business in that capacity. But, he confesses, with that boyish grin that so belies his 60 years: "1 was always messing about with the lorries and engines." Not that he knew then how big a part this interest in things on wheels was going to play in his life.
For all the ready-made opportunities that were open to him, Dick Brittain was soon to face up to the first of the many adversities that have helped to mould his unconquerable spirit. He was offered a partnership in a small engineering firm. The venture ended two years later—in failure. So it was back to the building business, to manage his father's Benfleet branch.
In the late '20s his father retired, passing over the business to Dick, not knowing that within a year or two the big slump of the '33s was to knock the bottom out of it. Once again Dick Brittain was faced with adversity, but this time he had his young wife Evelyn at his side. His problems were shared -as they have been ever since, by the woman who has been business partner, housewife and mother and who still finds time to live an active life.
But I make it sound all too easy. it wasn't. It was -in that slump of the '30s that Dick Brittain's interest in things on wheels came to his rescue. He got out his builder's 1-ton T-model Ford and became a haulier. Brittain was in business again . . . the business that was to become his life's work. Soon the model T was changed for a model A, and he acquired an old Dodge truck. Day and right he drove through the countryside. Builder Brittain was building a new career. His company, National Parcels and Goods Services, was born.
Came the 1933 Road and Rail Traffic Act. Dick acquired nine wrecked vehicles and, of course, the log books. He applied for, and was granted, an A licence for the 11 vehicles (the two originals and the nine wrecks) as "claimed tonnage." Business was booming. Well, not quite. The nine wrecks had to be replaced. That kept him busy until 1939 when .. . as if you hadn't guessed . .. another adversity shattered the Brittain edifice.
The man who laughs at adversity went into the NAAFI for the early part of the war—as transport manager. Northern Command. His wife took over what was left of the business. She kept it alive . . and kicking . . . until he returned in 1941, when he got behind the wheel again and drove his own vehicles around until the boys returned from the war and the business was back on its feet.
Since then? Larger premises and other businesses were taken over, Essex Carriers, Ltd., was formed in 1955: there are bright new offices: the stores and workshops have been extended; and the old model T and one clerk have become a fleet of over 40 and a stair of 70.
Two Jumps Ahead
His work for the Road Haulage Association is too well known to be recounted here. There aren't many committees he hasn't given a great deal of his time to. Why? I quote: "It keeps me two jumps ahead of the ordinary haulier who won't take an interest in Association activities. It keeps me on the ball. I'm always talking shop. I'm always learning something." Two jumps ahead: that's Dick Brittain.
He has also found time to become a member of several professional bodies, like the Institute of Transport, and he's a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Carmen. He served on the local council for nine years. and he plays a big part in the annual carnival at nearby Southend. Which explains my picture of Fireman Brittain.
Essex Carriers had always played their part in the carnival. "Let's be different," said Dick Brittain a few years ago. He wrote to 140 fire authorities asking for an old fire engine. Eighteen made offers. Dick finally chose a 1930 Albion Merryweather that had served the people of Hertfordshire. It cost him £70, and a great deal more since then, I've no doubt, in getting it into the spotless trim it is in today. It's a favourite, always with Dick Brittain at the wheel, at Southend's carnival, and at meetings of the Historic Commercial Vehicle Club, of which he is an enthusiastic member.
And when he isn't playing at firemen, attending R.H.A. committee meetings, and running his business, you'll find Dick Brittain playing a 'cello with Southend Philharmonic Orchestra or in Cornwall where he buys old cottages and restores them, or sitting at home listening to Beethoven or Haydn.
If he had his life all over again? (I felt tired at the thought of one man packing so much into a lifetime.) "The same again," was his immediate tesponse. "I'm grateful" he went on, "for two things . . . for the bad debts incurred in my early days; they taught me a lesson never forgot. And I'm grateful for a wise father who advised me to buy plenty of land around my premises."