FM Conway - Going the Extra Mile

Going the Extra Mile

‘Everything was packed like sardines. The only way you could get out of the yard was to climb out of the cab and crawl under the lorries on your hands and knees.’ So, I needed a new depot. I found a suitable place on Minden Road, owned by a company called Clarks Coaches, agreed a price with the owner, and we shook hands on the deal. Unfortunately for us both, the timing was bad because land prices dropped overnight. I had no alternative but to go back to him and renegotiate the deal. I felt really guilty about it. It’s not the way I like to do business. He never

spoke to me again, and I don’t blame him. Roy, however, was delighted to have the new space. Even he had been finding it a challenge to get everything stored safely into the yard at Oakfield Road, which was little over half an acre. When we moved the plant into Minden Road, he took the extra precaution of fitting the lorries with a Maple alarm system that made use of air horns, which made a hell of a noise when they went off. So, when a pair of burglars did manage to get into the yard one night, they soon wished they hadn’t. Bob Adcock’s four-wheeler was at the front of the yard, blocking the way of the other lorries that they had their eye on. So, they drilled out the ignition key, and tried to move the lorry. And that’s when the horns went off – twin air horns rigged inside the cab aimed inwards at their heads. It nearly blew them out of the cab; it certainly woke all the neighbours. The two blokes were seen running away from the yard, hopefully with blood running out of their ears.

A copy of the telephone list from this period is a vivid reminder of how much the company has grown in the intervening years.

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