FM Conway - Going the Extra Mile

Going the Extra Mile

They found a house for rent nearby, in Wells Park Road. And that was where, in September 1953, their first child, my elder sister, Annette, was born. I came along a couple of years later, and my younger sister, Margaret, a year after that. By this time, Norah and Frank – Mum and Dad – had bought their first house at 149 Croydon Road, Penge. This house was to become the first office and headquarters of F.M. Conway Ltd. But that was still a few years off. D ad was a road mender. I don’t know where he learned his trade, perhaps with Barney and Bart in Glasgow, or maybe when he came down to London; but road mending was the trade he had turned his hand to. His first job was with Roads Reconstruction Ltd., based in Maidenhead, where he became General Foreman. After a few years with them, he left and joined Allmacadams Ltd. (now part of the Colas Group) working for Dan Sullivan, a fellow greyhound enthusiast who became a great friend. It was itinerant work, so Dad was away from home a lot, which wasn’t ideal for a man with a young family. Besides, he was ambitious and was always looking for something better. In 1959, he went into partnership with the three Hart brothers who had set up their own business in Croydon Old Town. This didn’t last long. The Harts worked hard, laying drives, doing heavy gardening work, etc. But Dad had set his sights higher. He wanted his efforts to lead somewhere; he wanted to be part of a business that would grow and develop. There

149 Croydon Road was my first home, and the first headquarters of F.M. Conway Ltd. The front room was the company’s only meeting room and office. People came in and had a cup of tea in the kitchen with my mother, and I’d listen to what was going on.

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