ay Lewis
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If you want to know the most reliable economic barometer in Britain, ask Ray Lewis, London transport manager of Silver Roadways Ltd. He will assure you that it is road transport in Scotland where he spent three years for the company. He considers that the country's economic condition is reflected in Scottish road haulage long before the rest of the British Isles is aware of any change.
Though he has been in road transport for 25 years or thereabouts, with Silver Roadways, the Tate and Lyle Ltd associated haulage company, R.H.C. Lewis entered the industry more by accident than design. He spent a couple of years in Fleet Street as a journalist with Indian Express before, as he describes it, being caught at the tail end of national service. Realizing that he would be. better off as a regular on short-service engagement, he signed on with the Royal Air Force for three years and served with 111 squadron, then the Black Arrows but now universally known as the Red Arrows.
Towards the end of his engagement and undecided whether to remain in the RAE he was offered a position as a traffic operations clerk with Silver Roadways which he accepted. This proved to be one of those "for the time being" jobs which has lasted for 25 years.
It was not long before he came to the notice of the Tate and Lyle management and he was offered training under the company's middle management training scheme. After completing the course he returned to Silver Roadways as a "troubleshooter" before going to Scotland to manage the company's Rutherglen depot. He returned to the Croydon office as commercial manager last year and was appointed London transport manager in April, 1974.
Married with two daughters and a son, Ray confesses to be an enthusiastic West Ham United supporter but says that his only other hobby is his family. ...I .1