Former employees and vehicle enthusiasts were among those who visited playing fields to mark the centenary of a world-renowned firm from Watford’s industrial past yesterday.
Exactly 100 years since the firm was incorporated, the centenary of Scammell Lorries Ltd was celebrated with a gathering of trucks at King George V Playing Fields, close to where the firm’s factories were in Tolpits Lane.
Although the factories closed in 1988 and were demolished to make way for housing, a business estate and industrial park, Scammell remains arguably the best known British manufacturer of trucks, particularly of more specialist vehicles.
The business was originally developed in Spitalfields in London, but the firm moved to Watford and on May 1, 1922, Scammell Lorries Ltd was incorporated.
More than 30 vehicles were at yesterday’s gathering which was organised by the Scammell Register, the worldwide enthusiasts club for the marque.
Following this, many of the vehicles embarked on a celebratory drive that followed the route Scammell used for its road tests along the A412, the A40 to the Polish War Memorial, before turning north and back towards Watford on the A404.
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