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History…
I don’t know if it’s me, but things in the cab trade seem to have become
rather unexciting. What’s probably happened is that whereas drivers used to
get concerned over anything that looked dangerous to the trade, they now
carry around with them a form of anaesthetic that causes them to just look
the other way.
I still occasionally get calls from some drivers who are concerned
about something or other, but most just seem to shrug their shoulders and
carry on whatever they were doing. Ok, my reasons are undoubtedly selfish;
I’m trying to put together a magazine and without any info coming in, that
undoubtedly makes it that bit harder. But I’ve accepted that and just do the
best I can – always feeling grateful to any drivers who do provide me with
material.
But it does concern me when I think that licensed London taxi
drivers care nothing about the history of this trade and are prepared to
sacrifice it for a quick buck. Perhaps that shows my age and in reality it’s
me who is wrong? Perhaps caring about our business is a dated concept?
Perversely, I used to hate history when I was at Davenant – yet in
those many years since leaving school, I have found history becoming more
important to me.
From 1983 until I became editor in 1997, I wrote Call Sign’s
Big Al column. It was a hugely enjoyable experience with what seemed to be
an open invitation to insult anyone I wanted to on any of the three
circuits! It didn’t matter if they were the Chairman or cleaner, no one was
safe from Big Al – indeed many older drivers still refer to me by that name,
although they may well be referring to my girth nowadays!
But Big Al wasn’t just about taking the Mick out of everyone, I
tried to sneak in an historical background for Dial-a-Cab, because in those
days no one really cared where we came from so long as we were busy. While
the Chairman of the time (Ken Burns) showed a small amount of support in my
digging for our past, few of the rest of the Board really cared and the
bottom line was that we were a business and how we began was irrelevant. Of
course, who’s to say they weren’t right? But I just felt it was important to
have a past and as no one was really bothered either way, I started to dig.
Unbeknown to me, our Secretary of the time, Trevor Clarke, also had
similar leanings and although he had not the time to take them further, he
had minute books going back almost to Day 1. Few Board members even realised
we had them! Trevor also had a few photographic remnants that were held
together with sticky tape – one of which was of famous blind MP of the day,
Sir Ian Fraser, who dispatched our first official job. When I mentioned to
Trevor how I was interested in building up our history from it’s then total
of nil, to one where we could look back to chart our progress, his help was
invaluable.
He did the unthinkable and allowed me unlimited access to those
minute books and anything else that was in the small safe at
144 Shirland Road. One year later, after painstakingly going through over
thirty years of minutes, I had written The Early Years of Dial-a-Cab.
It had just six pages but they were filled |
with
names and dates from before the Society even began, right up to the time
when we moved to Brunswick Place and changed our trading name from All
London Radio Cabs to that of Dial-a-Cab. 1500 copies were given away with
Call Sign and haven’t been seen since!
On that journey, I met former Board members who had been totally
forgotten about and who were thrilled to have suddenly been remembered. I
came across names that even Board members hadn’t heard of and whose names I
believed should at least be written down as part of our history - people
such as our first full time dispatcher from Day 1 at Pentonville Road on 26
January 1954, a Mr Fizackerly. He left because the £10 a week ODRTS could
only afford to pay wasn’t really enough. Mr Defries (D03) took his place.
The official opening ceremony by Ian Fraser took place some 15 months later
in March 1955.
Many, though, believed our first day to be on Sunday 7 June 1953
when an open invitation to any taxi driver interested in forming an owner
drivers radio circuit was circulated. It was held at the Albany Tavern at
the top end of Regent Street. Those that turned up collected £200 between
them and that went into the bank as Bonnie began the search for any premises
they could afford and a radio manufacturer who would allow them credit, as
£200 wasn’t going to get them too many sets after renting premises!
I discovered people I had never heard of such as Bernie Lyons,
who edited the first-ever ODRTS newssheets. Drivers collecting any credit
money owed would pick the sheet up at Pentonville Road. What no one knew was
that Bernie hated doing them! Fortunately they were few and far between and
usually consisted of one page. Bernie was often heard to say that he’d do
the newssheet so long as he didn’t have to write anything on it – and he
never did! In the mid-60s, Joe Toff took over with ODRTS News Monthly, a
proper magazine!
But even more important to me was the day I finally traced our
Founder-Chairman, Bonnie Martyn to his north west London home. It may sound
easy to trace people living in London, but no one seemed to know where he
was or even if he was alive. After all, he was 40 when ODRTS opened for
business and he would have been around 70 by the time I searched for him.
But eventually I did trace him, introduced myself and asked if I could have
a chat about the early days. He was absolutely thrilled – so much so that he
had tears running down his cheeks that anyone from Dial-a-Cab had tried to
find him. Talk about the early days? He spoke for hours and not for one
second did I feel bored!
I met him many times after that and eventually arranged for him to
visit Brunswick House, where much to his delight, the Chairman showed him
around, with yours truly following behind. I’ll never forget that look on
his face as he saw how the one-room and a |
chair at Pentonville Road that he
started, had turned into a multi-£million business. On that trip, he met up
again with former founder-Board member Frank Duncan, who was still on the
BoM!
In fact, Bonnie Martyn’s achievement with ODRTS had been so amazing
– there had never been a radio circuit that was successful before – that in
November 1957, he was invited by a representative of the Government of
Bermuda to go and set up a similar circuit there.
So Bonnie resigned from ODRTS – something for which many never
forgave him – and on 28 December 1957 he travelled to Bermuda via New York
on the Queen Mary. Sent at the same time on a freight ship were 12 Austin
A55s, each fitted with Pye ‘reporter’ radios and which were going to be the
beginnings of Bermuda Taxi Radio Cabs. That company also still exists.
Bonnie eventually returned and while regaining a place on the Board, his
departure had left too many sour tastes and he never became Chairman again –
something he really wanted as he felt he had learned much when stopping off
in the USA on the way back from Bermuda.
One other occasion I will probably never forget came in June 1990
when Bonnie became 90. Unbeknown to him, Chairman Brian Rice, Call
Sign photographer Alan Green and myself laid in wait for him at his
home whilst he had been to visit family. He came in and saw Brian holding a
bottle of Champagne and a specially inscribed plaque and again we saw more
of the Martyn tears of joy!
One of Bonnie’s proudest days would have been on 7 June 2003 when
Chairman Brian Rice made a celebratory 50th anniversary Dinner and Ball at
London’s Vinopolis. With a who’s-who of London’s corporate business world
representing our clients, many DaC drivers and their partners, members of
staff, leaders of all the radio circuits forgetting their rivalries and the
PCO with their human side showing, only one man could be made as the star of
the evening – Bonnie Martyn. Sadly Bonnie had died 10 months earlier and his
widow Carol represented him. A toast was made to him with a huge round of
applause following as a huge thank you. Former Chairmen Jack Russell and
Aubrey Siteman were there, along with the widows of former Chairmen Phil
Messias (Faye) and Jack Taylor (Edna) to celebrate 50 years of Dial-a-Cab.
It was probably at that point I realised that my fight for a
history had finally been successful. Soon after, a plaque went up in
Driver’s Reception detailing all our past Chairmen and Call Sign
even began an ongoing series of Flashbacks, which detailed past
events – both major and minor.
If I were back at Davenant, I’m still not sure if history would be
my ‘thing’ but so far as this Society is concerned, I still find it a thrill
when I discover new things about its’ past. Kind drivers even send me
memorabilia, for which I am always truly grateful. But I still wish more
drivers cared about the history of our trade and not just treat it as work.
I know it’s an impossible dream, but it’s still one that I harbour…
Alan Fisher
callsignmag@aol.com |
