"Men of the Woods"

The Story of Whatton & Sons

All for a box of coins

Edric Whatton, with sons Eric, Bob and Archie Photo taken at the Overstone Show - the firm went every year. Archie's wife Maisie looks on; his daughter Jill sits in the tent entrance

An old rackbench now adorns their little yard. Other horses followed and a passing memory of horse-haulage is a recollection of four horses pulling with all their strength to load a big elm when a knot fouled the skid. One horse lost its grip and the tree rolled back, pulling the four horses into a floundering heap on the ground, like a beaten tug-of-war team.

Their first motor vehicle was a Model T Ford lorry, an innovation they thought the world of as Lizzie brought home the round butts and took out the sawn timber. One day, when the load was a little on the long side. Eric went to crank up the handle and the whole vehicle reared up several feet into the air. Did they unload? Not a bit of it, but just sawed off lengths from the tail until, with the balance restored, down she came and off they drove. The Ford was followed by a new Bean lorry, a make for which Eric had the highest regard. In 1935, GL3049, the first Latil, was purchased. Eric drove it home from the Albert Embankment getting used to the vehicle's odd crab-like four wheel steering in the thickest of London traffic.

By now, Eric’s brothers, Archie and Bob, and later, his own son, had all joined the company. Soon the Whattons knew that they really needed an articulated unit for haulage and they soon got busy designing their own. A blacksmith built a turntable and bolsters on a secondhand Bedford chassis, all complete with an independent brake. Their first artic, was on the road and gave miles of valiant service. All this time, the mill was growing, but the many additional saws at different stages were not really economical and it was Eric’s son who pioneered the idea of a completely new mill. Eventually, they favoured a Belgium make which at the time offered more than its rivals. A deal was struck, the old mill stripped out and the revolutionary new mill with thirty motors and many conveyors, all operated from one console, began to work, and was looked upon with envy by many fellow mill-owners.

The new mill

Brother Archie took over the first Latil and drove her most of her working life, hauling from all over Bucks and Northants. He frequently took her to the London Docks with loads.

The first vehicle in the big time was ERF No. CNV 581, a six-wheeled pole unit pictured here with Mr. Whatton Snr. And a rare olive ash. Later, two new Fodens came along.

Here we see a very large butt coming out of Althorpe Park in 1963 , bearing the chalk mark of the tree feller, and on its way to the veneer mills of London. This fine AEC outfit had a trailer made up to Eric Whatton’s specifications. AEC supplied the twin rear-wheels and axles, of dumper origin, the trailer was plated and its name plate bore the Whatton name and the wording No. 1. This original plate now adorns Eric’s fireside, as does a Latil radiator badge.

Probably one of Whatton’s largest jobs was taking away all the merchantable trees on the route of the M1 motorway when it was built, extending from Bucks border in the south to Northants in the north. Thousands of trees came in, many being cut, converted and then sent back for crash-barriers and fence-posts. Up to eight sets of tackle could be seen at one time lined up outside the mill.

Bob Whatton with some of the trees cleared in the building of the M1 motorway

The original Latil, that gave over forty years of hard and faithful service, came off the road in 1976 and put through the firm’s workshop and rebuilt by their engineer, Cyril Spriggs, who had cared for and kept the old lady going all her working life.

Archie Whatton and the original Latil The inscription on the back of the photo reads: "Quite the finest Latil still to be found in the hands of its original owners - a gorgeous Old Lady."

This Latil perhaps won more affection than any other vehicle in the fleet. She was at home as much on the cobbles of London Dockland as in the muddy woods and fields within a radius of forty miles of Hartwell. Over the years most of the drivers had at one time or another had a turn at her wheel. Even Mrs. Agnes Whatton, Eric’s wife, drove her when during the war Eric and Archie were at one time taking regular loads of decking up to Liverpool to be shipped to Ireland, a top priority contract, in the thick of the air raids and journeys that required a 3 a.m. start. One morning Eric was away with his lorry, but Archie had stalled, become over-choked, and was unable to start. Remembering that his sister-in-law, Agnes, could just about drive the Latil he called her out and she towed him up the road and got him going. Thus the Latil probably became the only one to be driven by a lady in carpet slippers and night attire.

Eric, Bob and Archie Whatton plus some of the company's vehicles. The photo was taken for a calendar. A Latil with its distinctive radiator grille can be seen behind Archie

Sadness and bereavement cloud the Whatton story, since Eric’s son was tragically killed in a road accident and later Eric’s brother Bob died. In July 1982, Eric and Archie put away the famous Whatton Slade Mill sign that had stood so long at the front of the mill. The day before had seen the takeover of the entire business by its new owners. However a little bit of Whattons of Hartwell will live on in nearby Bedfordshire, where the Latil now resides still finished in their famous gold livery. When young Eric trudged round with horse, cart, and faggots, he saw a great future in timber, a dream he was to make a reality in his lifetime. His father’s foresight, the tin of coins and the horse all played their part, of course. The Whatton Brothers were no strangers to hard work. They did not have good luck, but they made it, earning well the high respect they came to command in the home-grown timber trade in their time.