LIFE & TIMES OF HARRY SHELVOKE
Harry SHELVOKE (taken in 1925)
Harry SHELVOKE (1878 - 1962) and James Drewry (1883 - 1952) are given as employed by the Lacre Company that moved to Letchworth Garden City in 1910, where SHELVOKE was General Manager, and a Drewry was Chief Engineer. Between them they conceived an ingenious lorry and built the prototype in Harry's barn. As the Lacre Company wasn't interested in this enterprise, they set up Shelvoke & Drewry in October 1922 to manufacture their design.
There are many references to SHELVOKE & Drewry Ltd of Letchworth; makers of refuse collection vehicles, heavy duty fork lift trucks, and other specialised commercial vehicles. In 1966 S&D merged with W.P. Butterfield Ltd., the well known road tanker makers. And in 1971 a further merger with G.A. Harvey Ltd., of Greenwich took place to form the Butterfield-Harvey Group of companies. S&D was the largest subsidiary of the group and accounted for 37% of the share capital. This may have been the forerunner of SHELVOKE & Dempster who were in existence in 1976 & 1986. There are many references to commercial vehicles for S. D. and SHELVOKE & Dempster Municipal Refuse Vehicles. SHELVOKE & Drewry operated a number of maintenance depots throughout the U.K. Glasgow, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Bradford, Kings Lynn and Exeter all had depots. It is probable that, with the demise of the company, these depots continued to provide service under the names of previous competitors such as Dennis and Eagle. Some time after 1980 (by 1986) the American Dempster Company became involved, and later an individual investor bought the company, but did not make a success, so that by the early 1990's the company had ceased trading. The following synopsis was kindly provided by Russ POWELL of Dennis Eagle Ltd., in Merthyr Tydfil:
The following (not entirely accurate) information about Harry SHELVOKE is mainly taken from "Kaleidoscope of Shelvoke & Drewry" by Nick Baldwin and William Negus:
"Harry SHELVOKE (1877 or 1878 - 1962) came from Melverley in Shropshire. He served in the Boer War (1899-1902) with the Staffordshire Light Infantry. He worked with Herbert Austin in the early years of the Wolseley Motor Company. In 1911 he joined Lacre Ltd., who were an important early commercial vehicle manufacturer, as General Manager. In 1910 Lacre moved from Long Acre in London to the expanding Letchworth Garden City. Along with James Drewry he designed and built an ingenious lorry. When Lacre were uninterested in producing this vehicle, Shelvoke & Drewry left to form their own company in 1922. In 1937 the Company became a public company with Harry Shelvoke as Managing Director. He held this position until 1949 when he became Chairman. He remained as Chairman of the company until 1957. He died at Letchworth in 1962 at the age of 84.
His home was a mock Tudor house named Melverley, where he lived until his death surrounded by armour and swords. Similarly the boardroom at the works, in Icknield Way, was wood panelled to resemble a baronial hall. Mr. Shelvoke drove the ex-Prince of Wales' Daimler Double Six motor car. He is represented as: "a fiercesome gentleman of the old school, with a flair for showmanship." He expected high standards from his employees, but many remained loyal to the company over many years."
There are many references to SHELVOKE & Drewry Ltd of Letchworth; makers of refuse collection vehicles, heavy duty fork lift trucks, and other specialised commercial vehicles. In 1966 S&D merged with W.P. Butterfield Ltd., the well known road tanker makers. And in 1971 a further merger with G.A. Harvey Ltd., of Greenwich took place to form the Butterfield-Harvey Group of companies. S&D was the largest subsidiary of the group and accounted for 37% of the share capital. This may have been the forerunner of SHELVOKE & Dempster who were in existence in 1976 & 1986. There are many references to commercial vehicles for S. D. and SHELVOKE & Dempster Municipal Refuse Vehicles. SHELVOKE & Drewry operated a number of maintenance depots throughout the U.K. Glasgow, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Bradford, Kings Lynn and Exeter all had depots. It is probable that, with the demise of the company, these depots continued to provide service under the names of previous competitors such as Dennis and Eagle. Some time after 1980 (by 1986) the American Dempster Company became involved, and later an individual investor bought the company, but did not make a success, so that by the early 1990's the company had ceased trading. The following synopsis was kindly provided by Russ POWELL of Dennis Eagle Ltd., in Merthyr Tydfil:
- SHELVOKE Dempster Ltd., ceased trading as a company in July/August 1991.
- Dennis SHELVOKE at Cannock is no longer trading.
- Dennis SHELVOKE at Merthyr became Dennis Eagle around 1992/93.
- The Dempster name was incorporated into the business in the early eighties. The company was later owned by Krug International. A management buyout in 1990 changed the name to SHELVOKE Limited.
- There are numerous references to firefighting appliances - Shelvoke ladders & platforms, fire engines, emergency tenders & support vehicles (under the Dennis label). A firm called Dennis Shelvoke was also mentioned which suggested S&D are still part of a larger firm.
- From 1975 Shelvoke & Drewry was active in the production of fire appliances in collaboration with Carmichael. These vehicles displayed the logo ,"Shelvoke" as by then Drewry's involvement with the company had ceased some forty years previously.
The following (not entirely accurate) information about Harry SHELVOKE is mainly taken from "Kaleidoscope of Shelvoke & Drewry" by Nick Baldwin and William Negus:
"Harry SHELVOKE (1877 or 1878 - 1962) came from Melverley in Shropshire. He served in the Boer War (1899-1902) with the Staffordshire Light Infantry. He worked with Herbert Austin in the early years of the Wolseley Motor Company. In 1911 he joined Lacre Ltd., who were an important early commercial vehicle manufacturer, as General Manager. In 1910 Lacre moved from Long Acre in London to the expanding Letchworth Garden City. Along with James Drewry he designed and built an ingenious lorry. When Lacre were uninterested in producing this vehicle, Shelvoke & Drewry left to form their own company in 1922. In 1937 the Company became a public company with Harry Shelvoke as Managing Director. He held this position until 1949 when he became Chairman. He remained as Chairman of the company until 1957. He died at Letchworth in 1962 at the age of 84.
His home was a mock Tudor house named Melverley, where he lived until his death surrounded by armour and swords. Similarly the boardroom at the works, in Icknield Way, was wood panelled to resemble a baronial hall. Mr. Shelvoke drove the ex-Prince of Wales' Daimler Double Six motor car. He is represented as: "a fiercesome gentleman of the old school, with a flair for showmanship." He expected high standards from his employees, but many remained loyal to the company over many years."
'Melverley' in Pixmore Way, Letchworth (above) designed and built by Underwood & Kent in 1910 for Harry SHELVOKE. It was believed to have an extension for his extensive armour collection (fate unknown after his death in 1962).
The pictures, below, are from a collection of Christmas cards showing Harry SHELVOKE in his home 'Melverley'. The use of the Melverley name for the house and the baronial nature of the internal décor suggest a large amount of romanticism for the family's historical past, although research has subsequently disproved any idea of a connection to the Lords of Shelvock or Melverley. The bottom picture shows the ornate garden later compulsory purchased by the local council in order to build some flats.
The pictures, below, are from a collection of Christmas cards showing Harry SHELVOKE in his home 'Melverley'. The use of the Melverley name for the house and the baronial nature of the internal décor suggest a large amount of romanticism for the family's historical past, although research has subsequently disproved any idea of a connection to the Lords of Shelvock or Melverley. The bottom picture shows the ornate garden later compulsory purchased by the local council in order to build some flats.
The fireplace has numerous baronial crests with the "Shelvoke Crest" as the main centrepiece. Correspondence between this webauthor and the Rouge Dragon Pursuivant at the College of Arms in London (September 2008) has shown that Harry copied the coat of arms belonging to the Thornes of Shelvock & Melverley, renaming it Shelvoke, which in term supports the origin of the name of the house.
A close-up of the crest carved into the fireplace is below.
A close-up of the crest carved into the fireplace is below.
The coat of arms, below, shows the detail of the "THORNES of Shelvock & Melverley" used by Harry SHELVOKE although there was no entitlement to use this. This is one of the few family mementos held by Diana SHELVOKE in 2008, and was probably retrieved from Melverley when Harry died in 1962, prior to her marriage to his nephew WG in 1968. It was possibly made by one of the coachpainters at the Shelvoke & Drewry works. Harry also celebrated his supposed family connection to the pirate George SHELVOCKE (below). Both images reproduced by kind permission of Edythe Diana SHELVOKE.
From "Hertfordshire Countryside" for Summer 1957, page 19:-