Looking Back at the Brighton Conference
Page 48
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Norman I-I. Tilsley reports on news and views gleaned from last week's R.H.A Conference
AS Derek Good, the R.H.A.'s popular nat:onal chairman, said when he wound up the Brighton Conference at the end of the banquet and ball at the Corn Exchange: "This has been a most successful conference." Indeed, everyone to whom I spoke agreed that both from the business aspect and from the social angle —with perhaps a few reservations about the length of some of the banquet speeches— it was the best conference ever.
What everyone applauded most of all was the way the organizers restricted the first day's business to the discussion of two exceptionally well thought up resolutions in the morning and the Margetts paper " Taking Transport into the 1970s" in the afternoon (ignoring the comment of one delegate).
I found myself wondering why there was no Press conference this year—only a Press reception held in Mr. Good's private apartment at the Grand Hotel. Could it have been because this year, The Commercial Motor did not send, in advance, a list of prepared questions for the executive to answer and they were chary of answering verbal questions?
I can reveal that the first resolution— which suggested forming co-operative unitA, organizing an R.H.A. national freight network, etc.—was not the brainchild of Capt. 1 H. Allison. But whoever decided—with not too much notice, I understand—to ask the Captain to propose the resolution, must have known what they were doing. "Chucked Out" of the Navy (the Captain's own terminology) after a distinguished career and a war fought in destroyers, he joined English Electric in Australia where he stayed for eight years. It was there that he became known affectionately as 'Captain Bligh ". Returning to England hebought a haulage business—Zephyr Road Haulage Ltd., at Bodmin. The Captain was highly amused when Ralph Cropper (Conquers Transport Ltd.), who spoke against the resolution, said •that both the proposer and seconder, Mr. J. A. Murly (Continental Ferry Trailers Ltd.), were connected with " large organizations which would benefit from even further growth ". When Mr, Good intervened to point out that Capt. Allison had only a small business, Mr. Cropper very properly apologized and said that he had got him mixed up with another delegate, from Allison's Transport. In fact, the Captain runs a modest four-vehicle fleet!
Discussion on the resolution was not confined to the conference platform. There were some forthright opinions expressed to me over coffee during the adjournment by Mr. D. R. Miers (West Midland area chairman); his father, veteran milk haulier, Mr. R. P. Miers (Miers Transport Ltd.), and the West Midland area secretary, Mr. J. T. Parnell. "This has come two years too late to fight any election ", one of them said. They thought the R.H.A. could only hold its attraction if it could offer traffic to its members. A national clearing house would provide the answer, offering such benefits that an operator would be frightened to break the rules lest he be expelled from membership.
One grand old stager, whose broad Devon accent was missed during the debating, was Mr. W. F. Miners. " My doctor wouldn't allow me to speak ", he told me. Mr. Miners, who runs a 15vehicle fleet from picturesque Widecombe and has attended every R.H.A. conference that has been held, started off his working life in the Navy as a stoker 2nd class.
I am sorry to say that Macdonald Robley, the television compere chairman of the Brains Trust held on the last day of the conference, was not very original in his remark: I hope you are feeling better now" to Mr. W. McMillan, a Scottish delegate, when he asked the team what it thought of" political" advertising by industrial and commercial concerns. Not only was the same remark passed when Mr. McMillan came to the rostrum to speak in favour of the first resolution the previous day, but he was asked "Are you feeling better now" by counsel when he gave evidence at the Metropolitan L.A.'s court a few days earlier when hespoke on behalf of his company, James Hemphill Ltd., in the Hatter Bros. tanker application. Does he mind being linked with the last Premier? " Not at all ", he said. "Rut 1 think I'll change my name to Home now, by deed poll!"
By far the largest contingent at the conference was from the East Midlands (a total of 52 happy souls). Runners up were the West Midlands, with 41, and the Northern with 32. Why so many from the East Midlands, I asked Jack Allsop (Edward Allsop Ltd.), and he replied: "The wives must be more social minded." But tipper man Gordon Simms (G. Simms and Co. (Hucknall) Ltd.) put it down to a glut of baby-sitters in the area. (I don't know how he knows this —he is a confirmed bachelor!) Never again will Bill Morton, the East Midlands area secretary, be able to say to me: "When is your editor going to buy me that pint he promised me ". When last sighted at the end of the ball on Wednesday, Bill was fighting a losing battle with a jug of b:tter—the second that had been placed in front of him by myself and Alan Havarcl, the editor. His table colleagues weren't helping him Out either—farmer haulier Mr. G. C. Harvey, the area chairman, and Jack Allsop were not drinking beer. Bill, by the way, narrowly missed a dousing with a soda syphon the previous day for his thoughts about transport journalists.
Enough to send anybcdy on the wagon was the news that John K.rby (Federated Road Transport Services Ltd.) received while at the conference. He was informed that one of his vehicles, with a valuable load of tea aboard, had been stolen in London. Perhaps this was the reason why Jack Brown (Atlas Express Ltd.) disappeared early from the scene. Jack, of course, is the top security man.
Both the oldest member and the youngest attender were among the Northern delegation. Seventy-year-old Joe WilEamson (Freeman, Volkers and Stewart) spent a lot of time dancing, as did Archie Glendinning (W. A. Glendinning Ltd.), who chatted to me about the future of the "Northern Vigilantes ". This was Mr. Glendinning's first conference and he brought along his teenage son, who spent a busy time collecting, signatures of many of the personalities there. Other Northern stalwarts seen taking to the floor were Mr. and Mrs. N. T. O'Reilly, Dennis Le Conte (the area secretary) and his wife, Tommy and Mrs. Cook, and Mr. and Mrs. Bob Cl;fford. The Northerners isolated themselves by staying at the Royal Albion. There was, too, some understandably inter-area fraternizing between Mr. Stan Robson (Robsons Border Transport Ltd.) and Mr. IL Campey (H. Campey and Sons). The Campey's son—they are from Selby—and Stan Robson's daughter were recently married.
Most welcome comment of the conference came from the Labour extremist Arthur Carr during the Brains Trust" I wouldn't nationalize women ".
Most embarrassed moment—when Mr. Carr suggested that no nationalized vehicle had ever gone on the road in an unroadworthy condition, (Harold Elliott, of B.R.S. (Pickfords), let it go.
If not the largest, certainly one of the jolliest contingents is that which area secretary Ernie Foster brings with him from Devon and Cornwall. They always present the same happy picture, with chairman Len Matthews (Heavy Haulage Co. Ltd.) smiling quietly over his pipe. and the ubiquitous " Doe" Watson (Plymouth Tyre Co.) as cheerful as ever. Small wonder I saw the editor disappearing in their direction, accompanied by a large green bottle!
All in all it was an excellent conference. Lees hope-that Eastbourne next year will be able to keep the standard up.