The history of this famous English brewer goes back to the 19th Century - to1837 - when James Watney became a partner in the Stag Brewery of Pimlico. As with many companies, it evolved over the years, taking on Combe Delafield and Co, and Reid and Co. in 1898. The respective sons took over from fathers down the years with the final merger in 1958 when Watney, Combe, Reid & Co Ltd joined with Mann, Crossman & Paulin Ltd. – Hence the name we are all so familiar with – Watney Mann. This business merged with Grand Metropolitan Hotels in 1972 and closed in 1979.
We can also date our 1:76 scale Bedford TK quite accurately and it's safe to say it was transporting barrels of Watney's beer from the end of the 1950s. The TK replaced the S type Bedford truck in 1959 and was used extensively as the ideal light truck of the era, right into the 1970s. It was very versatile and came in a variety of formats, including the highly detailed open backed version we have modelled for you here, which we present complete with kegs of Watney's. Could it be that popular ale of the 1960s and 1970s - Red Barrel, do you think?
Shop here
Posted in
Oxford Models
Perhaps the most well known beer of the 60s and 70s Watneys Red Barrel (or Watneys Red) can trace its origins back to 1931. Red Barrel was originally developed as an export beer that could be transported for long distances by sea. Like all keg bitter it was filtered to remove the yeast then pasteurised and carbon dioxide added. Red Barrel was first sampled at the East Sheen Lawn Tennis Club where Watneys Master Brewer Bert Hussey was a member. By the early 60s Watneys was transporting its kegs nationwide and were able to claim that it was the country's most popular keg bitter and the first. Shop here
Posted in
Days Gone,
Ford
Eddie Stobart Ltd celebrates the company's 40th Anniversary this year. Edward Stobart, son of the founder Eddie Stobart, took over the helm from his father who had founded the company in the 1950s, dealing mainly in agricultural products in Cumbria. In the 1970s, the company was incorporated as Eddie Stobart Ltd, when the business passed to Eddie's son Edward Stobart. Edward developed the road haulage side, steering the operation towards the international logistics haulage company it is today. Edward stepped down in 2003 and after a series of complex takeovers, the business is now represented by his brother William, along with Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Tinkler and has developed into an intermodal logistics company. Together they control the Eddie Stobart empire, still centred in Carlisle in Cumbria, but operating around 6 million square feet of state-of-the-art storage facilities throughout the UK and Europe. They employ over 5000 staff between their 40 sites, with a fleet of around 1850 trucks and 3000 trailers, as well as rail services and a port.
Posted in
Eddie Stobart,
Oxford Models
