JCB chairman leads tributes to one of the firm’s first workers
THE chairman of JCB has led tributes to one of the first ever people to work for the Staffordshire excavator manufacturer.
John Wheeldon, who has died at the age of 87, was the sixth person recruited by company founder Joseph Cyril Bamford in August 1948.
He went on to become the company’s first ever demonstrator, before going on to set up JCB’s Training School and later becoming Visits Manager. He retired in 1990 after 42 years’ service, later returning part-time as a tour guide.
The father-of-two, formerly of Combridge, near Rocester and latterly of Uttoxeter, also started a family tradition of working for JCB. His daughter Jane Staley is JCB chairman Lord Bamford’s PA and this month herself marks 50 years’ service with the company.
Wheeldon, immediately recognisable for his distinctive moustache, also had the distinction of being the person who taught Lord Bamford how to drive the JCB machines.
Lord Bamford said: “I knew John from when I was a child because he was one of the first people my father employed. He was a true gentleman and a very loyal employee. My sympathies go out to Jane and all the family at what is a very sad time.”
Before becoming one of JCB’s first employees, Wheeldon also had the distinction of being one of JCB’s first customers. He worked on farms between Uttoxeter and Alton before he joined the company and when he decided to buy himself a screw-tipping trailer in 1946, he purchased one from Mr Bamford.
In an interview in 1995 to mark JCB’s 50th anniversary, Wheeldon recalled: “I was one of Mr Bamford’s earliest customers and after I bought one of his screw tipping trailers, he would send other customers to see me to understand the capabilities his products. When I joined JCB, Mr Bamford said I could work as a general hand but I would have to learn how to weld and he would teach me, which he did.”
