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The boots who were made for working

October 22, 2020/in News, Press Release/by Nigel Chell

The boots who were made for working: AS JCB prepares to mark its 75th birthday tomorrow there’s one family with an extra reason to toast the milestone after notching up a staggering 600 years’ service to the company. The Boot family started its long association with JCB in 1949 when Bill Boot clocked on for […]

Daneshill School appoints Kestrel Contractors

October 21, 2020/in News, Press Release/by Mark Casey

Daneshill School appoints Kestrel Contractors: Kestrel Contracts, an accomplished provider of natural and artificial sports pitches, has been appointed by Daneshill School to build a range of new sporting facilities. These include a large new Multi Use Games Area (MUGA), a new 5-a-side grass football pitch and the renovation of an existing MUGA. In addition, […]

The boots who were made for working

October 22, 2020/in News, Press Release/by Nigel Chell

Daneshill School appoints Kestrel Contractors

October 21, 2020/in News, Press Release/by Mark Casey

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The boots who were made for working

October 22, 2020/in News, Press Release/by Nigel Chell

The boots who were made for working: AS JCB prepares to mark its 75^th birthday tomorrow there’s one family with an extra reason to toast the milestone after notching up a staggering 600 years’ service to the company.

The Boot family started its long association with JCB in 1949 when Bill Boot clocked on for the first time at the company’s factory in Rocester, Staffordshire. In the years that followed, nine of ten of Bill and his wife Lucy’s children went on to work at JCB. In total 27 Boot family members – including nine grandsons and three great-grandsons have followed in Bill’s footsteps – registering a staggering 600 years’ combined service to JCB.

The boots who were made for working

The milestone has just been reached as JCB prepares to mark its 75th anniversary on October 23^rd – the day in 1945 that the late Joseph Cyril Bamford founded his business in a lock-up garage in the Staffordshire market town of Uttoxeter.

Today the late Bill Boot’s legacy continues as 11 members of his family still work at JCB – including five of his grandsons and three of his great-grandsons.

Bill’s son Bob, aged 81 and living in Cheadle, Staffordshire, started work in at JCB in 1956 on a temporary contract – and stayed for nearly 44 years. He said: “It is a company that has changed so much, but so many things have stayed the same. It may have factories in all four corners of the world but it is still based on the values that started it up in Staffordshire 75 years ago.”

Bill’s grandson Gary Boot, of Uttoxeter, 58, of who retired in September, said his family were very proud of their JCB links. Gary, who started working for JCB in 1986, said: “I always wanted to join from an early age. My dad, Dereck, would come home and tell us stories of the company and Mr JCB and that sparked my interest. I’ve made so many great friends and have so many memories of the place. It is amazing to think of how many years’ service our family has put in – 600, it’s astonishing.”

Gary’s identical twin brothers Andy and Steven both work at the World HQ in Rocester. Andy, 53, said: “I think how it is panned out over the generations has been brilliant. I joined in 1983 on a Youth Training Scheme and haven’t looked back from there.”

Steven, of Rocester, added: “Being identical twins makes it difficult for our colleagues, but to be honest, there are so many Boots I find it difficult to keep up myself on some occasions!”

The fourth generation of Boots working at JCB is made up of great-grandsons, brothers Shaun and Daniel Boot and their second cousin Leigh Boot. Shaun, of Denstone, who has worked for JCB for 20 years, said: “There is definitely something in the blood of the Boot family that makes us want to work at JCB.

“Knowing that dad, grandad and great grandad all worked here really does make me sit back and think. I’m really not sure what our family would have done for a living if it wasn’t for JCB. I have a six-year-old daughter and my brother Daniel has a six-year-old son. So, you never know, I wouldn’t be surprised if they decide to follow in the family tradition.”

Bill Boot and his wife Lucy – who worked in the JCB canteen – had nine sons and a daughter and nine of the children – Tony, Dereck (correct), Ken, Bob, Bill, Dennis, Les, Ron and Ruby – went on to work at JCB followed by grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

JCB was founded on the same day as JCB’s Chairman Anthony Bamford, now Lord Bamford, was born. The company’s first product was a hydraulic tipping trailer made out of war time scrap. Today the company manufactures more than 300 different machines, including the world’s first electric mini excavator. JCB has 22 factories around the world, 11 in the UK and others in India, the USA, Brazil and China.

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Daneshill School appoints Kestrel Contractors

October 21, 2020/in News, Press Release/by Mark Casey

Daneshill School appoints Kestrel Contractors: Kestrel Contracts, an accomplished provider of natural and artificial sports pitches, has been appointed by Daneshill School to build a range of new sporting facilities.

These include a large new Multi Use Games Area (MUGA), a new 5-a-side grass football pitch and the renovation of an existing MUGA. In addition, Kestrel will be designing and building a new cricket pitch for use next year and developing the school’s tennis courts.

Daneshill School appoints Kestrel Contractors

Hampshire-based Daneshill School, which is owned by the Duke of Wellington, awarded the contract to local firm Kestrel after a comprehensive and competitive tender process. Work started with Kestrel surveying the relevant sites in conjunction with the architects to plan and design the pitches’ location and orientation. Once those stages were complete all necessary levelling, stabilisation and excavation were carried out under the close direction of Kestrel’s on-site management.

Commenting on Kestrel’s contract win, Bryony Ellison, bursar at Daneshill, said; “Daneshill provides an intensive programme of sport for all pupils enabling each child to learn new skills while keeping them fit, active, healthy and happy, no matter what their level of sporting ability is. With sports as diverse as football, lacrosse, rugby, hockey, tennis, rounders and gymnastics being taught, the school’s sporting facilities must be flexible, durable and of the highest quality. It is on these facilities that Daneshill’s teams compete at area, county and even national levels”

Lord Mornington of Stratfield Saye, added, “I am delighted with the work undertaken by Kestrel so far. They renovated our old pitch very quickly to provide an all-weather surface ready for the start of the new term. In addition, the school children loved watching all the machinery from the viewing platform that Kestrel erected, and I am looking forward to trying out our wonderful new pitch.”

Chris Hyde, Director of Kestrel Contracts Ltd, commented “Kestrel has been providing top class sports facilities for all outdoor games including football, rugby, tennis, hockey, cricket, bowls and even equestrian events for over a quarter of a century. Over those years the company has adapted to changing market conditions and customer requirements by keeping our expertise, experience, know-how and a wide range of specialist equipment within Kestrel. That is one of the secrets of our success.”

“However, what really sets us apart from other sports facilities providers is that we are passionate about sport. We understand just how exciting, rewarding and enjoyable sport can be and how it can help to build confidence and teamwork from an early age. We are relishing the opportunity that we have been given by Daneshill School and we look forward to working with the school to provide some of the best sporting facilities in the area”, concluded Chris.

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The boots who were made for working

Daneshill School appoints Kestrel Contractors

The boots who were made for working

Daneshill School appoints Kestrel Contractors

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

The boots who were made for working

The boots who were made for working: AS JCB prepares to mark its 75^th birthday tomorrow there’s one family with an extra reason to toast the milestone after notching up a staggering 600 years’ service to the company.

Daneshill School appoints Kestrel Contractors

Daneshill School appoints Kestrel Contractors: Kestrel Contracts, an accomplished provider of natural and artificial sports pitches, has been appointed by Daneshill School to build a range of new sporting facilities.

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