Complete Transport • Man VERYONE who knew him will have learned
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with deep regret of the death of Mr. E. H. Edwardes, 0:B.E., J.P., chairman and managing director of Lancashire United Transport, Ltd., and the South Lancashire Transport Co., until his retirement a few months ago, "Ned," as he was generally and affectionately known, was in his 81st year. Mr. J., Lancaster, national officer, transport staffs, of the National and Local Government Officers Association, who was with L.U.T. for 31 years, told me that Ned was a worthy opponent in battles on pay and the conditions of service of his companies' employees. He was big enough to see the other side's point of view, and once\ he had made up his mind that his opponents' case was justified, he graciously and generously accepted it. "Although he and I—representing the staff—did not always see eye to eye," went on Mr. Lancaster, "I hope that the name of Ned Edwardes will ever be remembered as that of a complete company transport man: tough, tenacious, competent and fair in business, and a family man who loved his home and had the greatest possible affection for all children."
An Enigma
IN the village of Boothstown. where Ned lived and died,
he was something of an enigma in the childhood memories of my colleague, Andrew Seacombe. Virtually the only time he was glimpsed by the inhabitants—the younger ones, anyway--was when his large, black, chauffeur-driven car took him between his home and his office at Atherton. Seacombe's first encounter with Ned was a mildly terrifying experience, The.gdwardes' home, Booths Hall, lay at the bottom of a steep hill, and one of his first attempts at riding a bicycle took in this incline. Half-way down he,gently applied the brakes, but nothing happened. It appears that he succeeded in negotiating a large tree in front of the Hall only to end up unconscious almost on the doorstep. When Seacombe came to inside, the first thing he saw was ' Ned's face peering close into his—and to a boy of 12 that could be an alarming sight in normal circumstances. The incident had a happy ending; the subsequent kindliness of Ned and his family destroyed for ever the enigmatical character of the grand old man.
Wednesday's Child
WEDNESDAY is not always a happy day on which to hold the Institute of Transport's anniversary luncheon, for it is then that transport questions in particular arc asked in the House of Commons. If the Minister of Transport is one of the speakers at the luncheon, the conflict for his services may be embarrassing for him, as well as gastronomically disturbing. To be back in the House of Commons by question time he may have to reply to a toast before it is proposed, or, as happened last week, be sandwiched between the meat and the sweet. Mr. J. A. Boyd-Carpenter was on that occasion in the additional difficulty of arriving late because of the chaos caused by the Lord Mayor's Show. Consequently, his appearance was in all senses short, although it was characteristically exuberant.
Regular Reward
mR. TOM JACKSON, national chairman of the Institute of Traffic Administration, was this week guest speaker to the body's Manchester Centre. He is one who believes in coach operators keeping the pot boiling week in and week out. With increased 'capital and running costs, he contends, the time has gone when unadulterated coach operating can be expected to keep the average business going all the while. Therefore, activities must be consolidated so that there is regular passenger work of one kind or another.
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Regularity of operation is a subject on which the head Of Tom Jackson (Chorley), Ltd., speaks with both feeling and practical knowledge, for he can look back to the days when he was a coach driver on daily engagement, paid only when the vehicle was on the road. In 1936 a time arrived when his income became insufficient for his needs, but instead of forsaking transport, Mr. Jackson staked his small savings on the purchase of a coach. Because he was well-known in the district he rapidly developed privateparty work. When war started Mr. Jackson was registered with the local authorities for emergency duty and in June, 1940, he, together with his vehicle, began a seven-month attachment to the Army in Yorkshire. In the September an East Coast landing was feared to be imminent and, to minimize the risk to the drivers of the various vehicles, members of the Pioneer Corps were ordered to smash all the glass in the cabs. That meant some weeks of extremely cold war for the drivers.
The chapter ended with the coach being officially requisitioned and handed over to the Army authorities. Tom Jackson returned to Chorley, where later he started works-service contracts. Since then the fleet has grown until it numbers 16 single-deckers and six double-deckers. During the post-war years Mr. Jackson has become an acknowledged expert on Continental private-party touring.
Reciprocal Trading
I F a. keen salesman is one who, having sold the goods to the customer, then_ proceeds to buy them back, there is no lack of enthusiasm in the publicity department of Trojan Ltd. A picture received by The Commercial Motor showed the hand-over to T. Wall and Sons, Ltd., of their 200th Trojan purchased since 1953. The caption on the picture said: "Mr. Cecil W. Rodd [chairman of Wall's] on left handing over the vehicle to Aid. Basil Monk [managing director of Trojan] at the Trojan works." I am now awaiting a picture showing Aid. Monk handing a Wall's ice-cream to Mr. Rodd.
Pointed Question
WHEN Mr, Stanley Vestey, exhibitions manager F. Perkins, Ltd., was in Copenhagen in connection with the British Trade Fair, he called on the manager of an hotel to arrange for a reception. A suitable date and time were fixed; the room was inspected and approved; drinks and delicacies to be served were decided upon. Then came the matter of price.
'Any idea how much it might be per head ? " asked Mr. Vestey. The hotelier's face clouded and, anxiously, he clasped his hands. "Are the Press coming ? " he inquired.
Turn About
HAVING thrown off the mantle of a Conservative p altamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, Sir Gurney Braithwaite appeared in a letter to The Times, last week, in the role of a free-enterprise haulier. As a director of Sunley Transport (Stafford), Ltd., he attacked the Government's new policy on disposal. He suggested that the Minister should have third thoughts and, if he wished to leave the trunk network of British Road Services in its present form, set up "a live public company with critical shareholders and a sense of urgency. Otherwise," he said, 'the dead hand of nationalization will still bedevil this vital section of road haulage, to the consternation of those who helped to pilot the 1953 Act to the Statute Book."