We're going all the way back to Little Aston Road in Aldridge, which if you've been following our journey is one of the first buildings the business was created from whilst Alan & Wyn were still working part time. When we first posted our story of the years spent in the 'hole in the wall' we had a few messages about memories from Little Aston Road. These sparked Wyn's memory, so we've got another story for you, the real beginnings of the company you could say, going all the way back to the 1950's.

I [Wyn] can remember in the early 1950's whilst I was very young my father worked part time, on Saturdays and Sundays at James Hill Garage. He worked repairing Jukes Brothers the builders work vans, and I remember these vans being painted light green. The manager over the garage was a Mr. Jack Conniff who lived on Walsall Wood Rd by the Leighswood Rd Junction. He wore a white work smock, and used to oversee the car repairs and serve the petrol. He also had a small part of the garage where he would sell sweets and chocolates to customers and passers by, which was and still is a fond memory for many in the area.

My older brother used to go to work with my father to help him. He soon found himself wandering round the back of the garage to one of the out buildings which was formerly part of a flour mill. I recall him saying that the rats were white to blend in with the surroundings! A gentlemen in this building gave my brother his first job sorting out boxes of quarter light window levers into left hands and right hands. It was enough to keep him busy for a while!

The gentlemen in question was Bill Langston a name you may recognise. He had come out of the RAF after the war and worked for Petters Ltd the diesel engine manufacturer. He taught my brother how to repair Villiers, Petter & Lister Engines on the weekends at the rear of the garage, and after my brother had left college he offered him a full time job. If you didn't recognise the name, the man that took my brother from sorting out levers to repairing engines was the founder/owner of Reliant Plant Services, later bought by Ashtead Plant. After some years my Brother went on to become the director of Reliant Plant, all through a chance encounter.

When I left school at the age of 15, my brother managed to secure me a job working at Reliant Plant. Even though my brother worked there I still started at the bottom and went on to work my way up just as he did when he first met Bill Langston. Examples of my chores/work were;

• Sweeping and cleaning up the workshop and yard
• Making the tea for the fitters
• Lighting and keeping the three coke stoves going all day in the cold weather
• Fetching goods from the local shop for the foreman and fitters. Milk, cigarettes, etc.
• Fetching the sandwiches from the cafe
• Going to the post office
• Fetching the fish and chips on Fridays, which I always got change from £2.00 for 15 dinners!
• Cleaning the concrete from mixers with a Kango Hammer, which was very noisy inside the drum!

Plus many other jobs which numerous of us out there can relate to upon starting work for the first time as a youth. After my hard work for some years I was given the opportunity to work in the stores with a Mr Arthur Feasey who taught me a lot about spare parts. I served the fitters and customers and when Mr Feasey left I was put in charge of the stores, and I stayed there until I left in the early 1970's to start up L&S.

As you can see the birth of L&S began through a chain of events that all led me to building my own business. All starting with my father working at James Hill Garage in the 1950's, with my brother venturing round the back, finding Bill Langston. Myself working at Reliant Plant in the workshop and stores gaining knowledge of spares, and finally seeing the huge opportunity to start my own business in the same building Reliant Plant Services had been founded all those years before.

To this day L&S are still planting acorns, every person that works with us is well rounded and encouraged to widen there skills and knowledge for the future, whether that be with us or elsewhere. Wyn is always pushing the business forward in an innovative way, and he's not scared of trying something new. If you don't move forward ahead of the times you will fall behind as so many do.

As we continue through our archive of information from the beginning of L&S we want to know what you want to see! Drop us a comment and we'll see what we can do, whether it's more photos, more vintage engines or just more history of the business we want to know. Don't forget to keep an eye on our Facebook page where you can get updated on all of our upcoming posts!

Copyright:
In all cases every effort is made to contact the original creator of the images / owner of copyright. In cases where this is not at all possible that images are only used in a fair use context. No copyright intended. All images are reproduced for informational purposes only.
First Image: Reproduced in 'Aldridge Revisited' by Author Jan Farrow 1998 (Page 52) Be sure to check this out if you like history. Covered under Fair Use, used for informational purposes only, not to sell or advertise. No copyright intended.
Second Image: Produced in 'London & Nothern Group Limited 1978 Report & Accounts' Page 13, no copyright ownership is stated in book, image used under fair use, used for informational purposes only, not to sell of advertise. No copyright intended.