MICHAEL STANYON

Seen above at the graveside of Sir John Evans, Abbots Langley Church, on the occasion of the Friends of Dacorum Museum's AGM, 11th May 2008 

 

 

Mike moved to Hemel Hempstead over thirty years ago and joined the local history society.  After a couple of years he became Chairman, a position he held for many years and during which he ran an evening class at Dacorum College on HH history for about five years.  Having joined the Dacorum Museum Advisory Committee, now the Dacorum Heritage Trust, he participated in researching and arranging their annual exhibitions.  Having taken an early retirement from his post as Logistics Manager with Northern Telecoms he began work at the Dacorum Heritage Store in Berkhamsted where he was tasked with establishing a volunteer force and for taking the bare store, installing computer recording equipment and processes for recording and storing the objects.

 

After working with the Trust's professional Curator for some time he transferred as Dacorum Borough Council's Community Heritage Officer during which time he arranged a film show in The Pavilion showing films of Hemel Hempstead New Town and about the Gadebridge Park Roman Villa excavations in millennium year 2000.  Both of these were for capacity audiences.

 

For the past seven years he has been a part time archivist with The Apsley Paper Trail at Frogmore Mill and has written numerous articles for the British Association of Paper Historians quarterly journal.  His most recent achievement was in collaboration with Jill Penwarden with a contribution of a chapter to The Ashmolean Museum's recent publication to mark the centenary of the death of Sir John Evans FSA who lived at Nash Mills for more than fifty years.  Previous publications include “90 Years Young” A celebration of Scouting in the Hemel Hempstead District 1908-1998, published by the Dacorum Heritage Trust for the Hemel Hempstead District Scout Council

 

John Dickinson’s company, part of which was based at Apsley Mills above, made paper & stationary in the Gade Valley for nearly 200 years.  The company, now part of Hamelin Papers, still uses the tried and trusted brand names introduced by John Dickinson, such as Lion Brand, Basildon Bond & Three Candlesticks.

 

Click here for more information concerning the birth of the Paper Industry in the Gade Valley, and here for more information generally on the UK Paper Making Industry.

 

 

DICKINSON'S TRANSPORT & COMMUNICATIONS

by

Michael Stanyon

Hon Archivist Apsley Paper Trail

 

Part 3: Road Transport

 

 

 

This is the third article in a series about Communication using extracts from the archive of the Apsley Paper Trail.

 

From the earliest days John Dickinson used to travel on horseback between the various paper mills supplying his London stationery business.  This would have been the usual method, unchanged for centuries.  Within his working life the canal and rail systems were created but for a long time horse and foot transport continued to be used by many people.  We know that the factory census for 1870 includes a Post Boy, whose age is unknown, who had to walk the route in all weathers from Croxley to the head office at Nash Mills with all of the mail and any other portable necessities, a distance of about seven miles. 

 

Horses provided the major motive power well into the twentieth century both for hauling the canal boats and for deliveries to the stations and elsewhere.  1911 seems to have been a critical year for it is then that the horses were sold off and a fleet of vans bought.  The same year saw the introduction of a bus service provided by the LNWR to transport employees at the works closing times.

 

 

A very early Commer open 4-Ton van of 1914.

 

The introduction of a Scammel ‘Horse’ in 1931 brought the first hint of containerised transport with an articulated driving unit, the ‘Horse’, which could be linked to a trailer.  

 

 

The Scammel ‘Mechanical Horse’

initially  introduced for short local work.

 

Several trailers for each ‘horse’ meant that the motive unit and driver was more productive than a lorry or van by leaving a trailer to be loaded or unloaded whilst moving another trailer.  The articulated ‘Horse’ eventually evolved into today’s articulated lorries. 

 

 

A fine trio of Albion lorries lined up at Tottenham.

 

 

A Dickinson’s lorry fitted with gas tanks on a trailer

during the time of wartime fuel shortages.

 

In 1961 the daily run of 200 miles between Dickinson’s Apsley and Kirkby factories used the few early motorways must have been very slow by today’s standards.  The Dickinson fleet was painted in dark green and cream, the house colours, with brand names and slogans to strengthen fleet identities.  Previous articles have shown that placing the name of Dickinson on the barges and railway vehicles was undertaken in the early part of the twentieth century.  When road transport became prevalent so the company name and brand identities became especially important since the vehicles would be travelling in the towns and villages. 

 

 

The articulated trailer which travelled between

Apsley and Dickinson's Kirkby factory,

near Liverpool, in March 1961.

 

Regular inspections were held to encourage the drivers to take the utmost care of their vehicles.  Competitions with presentations to the most successful were regularly judged by outside experts, often from the vehicle manufacturers.  In time this scheme was extended to include the internal fleet of fork lift truck drivers who competed for their own prizes.

 

 

Vehicles lined up for inspection at Apsley.

 

 

 

Michael Stanyon

Hon Archivist