W. Clifford Watts Est. 1937

The story of Yorkshire hauliers, W Clifford Watts is one of humble beginnings and exceptional ingenuity. Gary Russell illustrates the story with 184 photographs, both black and white and an extensive colour collection.

The story of Wyndham Clifford Watts is one of humble beginnings and exceptional ingenuity; originally from Gwent in Wales, W Clifford Watts moved to South Cave in Yorkshire and, in 1937, bought a Model T Ford and began delivering farm produce. With one successful hauling endeavour under his belt, he decided to become a supplier of building materials, a business for which there was great demand at the time. Again, he was successful and obtained his first contract with F Hall at Brough, who used his materials to build the Blackburn Aircraft runway. By 1939, W Clifford Watts had a number of employees under him and had joined the war effort by supplying much needed sand bags to the ARP posts around East Yorkshire. After further rapid expansion of the company, W Clifford Watts was incorporated to become a private limited company in 1944. The company would have been nothing without the mechanical support of the various vehicles and machines utilised for the work. This book includes 184 stunning pictures ranging from archival black and white photos of Fordson 7Vs, during the construction of RAF airfields in 1941, to extensive colour pages, depicting the large scale quarrying operations carried out by the company. Some of the vehicles that donned the W Clifford Watts livery were Foden S21 eight-wheelers, Dodge KT900s, MAN six-wheeler cement mixers, 1995 Scanias, 1974 Leyland Bisons and DAF CF six-wheelers, to name just a few.