Defunct truck manufacturers of the United Kingdom

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 50. Chapters: Associated Equipment Company, Bedford vehicles, Bristol Commercial Vehicles, Scammell vehicles, Thornycroft, Green Goddess, Charles H. Roe, Sentinel Waggon Works, Bedford CA, Jensen Motors, Albion Motors, Bedford CF, Edwin Foden, Sons & Co., Scammell Scarab, Guy Motors, ERF, Bedford Rascal, Shelvoke and Drewry, Karrier, Bedford JJL, Bedford OB, Bedford VAL, Bedford RL, Bedford Dormobile, Vince & Son, Bedford SB, Scammell Pioneer Semi-trailer, Bedford HA, Bedford TK, Bedford TJ, Bedford QLD, Park Royal Vehicles, Bedford TM, Bedford OXA, Oliver Danson North, Bedford Beagle, Bedford M series, Bedford Chevanne, Bedford D series. Excerpt: Charles H. Roe Ltd. was a Yorkshire coachbuilding company. It was for most of its life based at Crossgates Carriage Works, in Leeds. In 1947 it was taken over by Park Royal Vehicles. Two years later, along with its parent, it became part of Associated Commercial Vehicles (ACV) in 1949, which was merged with Leyland Motors Ltd in 1962. In 1965 30% of Park Royal and Roe's shares were exchanged by Leyland Motor Corporation for shares in Bristol Commercial Vehicles and Eastern Coach Works held by the Transport Holding Company. Later the THC was succeeded by the National Bus Company and Park Royal, Roe, Bristol, ECW and Leyland National Ltd became subsidiaries of a new company Bus Manufacturuers Holdings 50% owned by British Leyland and 50% by National Bus. Leyland took complete control of BMH in 1982 and closed Charles H. Roe in 1984. In the following year, a group of employees from the former business, supported by Yorkshire Enterprise Ltd, began the Optare coachbuilding business in the former Roe carriage works. Mr Charles H. Roe was a coachbuilder, draughtsman, engineer and entrepreneur who established a coachworks business bearing his name in Leeds, Yorkshire in 1917. He continued to be its managing director until 1952. Charles H. Roe Ltd produced distinctive and durable coachwork which although associated most strongly with municipal operators, particularly in Yorkshire, sold to a wide range of bus, trolleybus and coach operators, and there were even a few car, railway carriage, tram and commercial vehicle bodies too. Eventually becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of British Leyland in 1982 it was closed in 1984. Former workers and management pooled their redundancy money and in 1985 returned to the Roe factory in Leeds with a new bus-building business under the new name of Optare Ltd. Charles Henry Roe was born in York on 22 May 1887. His father Charles Roe worked for the North Eastern Railway at their carriage works in the town, eventually rising to a foreman's po