A LIFETIME ON THE ROAD
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For the past few nights the Hawk has been tucked up in bed with Spiers of Melkshaal—no, it's not what you're thinking. The object of my affection is a book by transport writer Graham Edge. In this very readable account of a family haulage business, he recounts the history of the Spiers brothers from an inauspicious start to the successful haulage business that they built up. Bill and Albert Spiers were the eldest of four children and when their mother Alice died prematurely in 1926, the younger two—Freddie, aged seven, and Mary, aged two--were taken into the workhouse orphanage. By the time Bill was 19 he had saved up enough money to buy his first lorry, a £27 Chevrolet, and he was able to bring his young siblings out of the workhouse. Edge's book is packed with photographs documenting the evolution of the company.
This one is a worthy addition to the history of the road haulage business.
Spiers of Melksham is priced at £15.95 plus £2.00 P&P from Nynehead Books, The Old Dairy, Perry Farm, East Nynehead, Wellington, Somerset TA210DA.