FAMILY MEMBERS of the man who founded major holiday home manufacturer Willerby have enjoyed a VIP tour of the company’s headquarters and manufacturing hub.
Jean Morris, the only child of Willerby’s founder Walter Allan, travelled from her home in Devon to the company’s site in Hull for the occasion.
The visit reunited 92-year-old Jean with her father’s legacy as Willerby begins a year marking the 80th anniversary of the business.
Jean was joined by her sons, Simon and Andy, and daughter-in-law Patricia for the memorable visit, during which they met Willerby colleagues, toured the impressive facilities and stepped inside Willerby’s newest model.
Jean said: “I never imagined I’d have the opportunity to come back to Hull and see the current Willerby site. I’m completely amazed by it.
“The thing which surprises me the most is the size and scale of the operation. My father started this business as a one-man band from a small shed and it’s grown to such an impressive scale.
“I don’t think he could have ever imagined what it would look like all these years later, but I know he’d be delighted!”
After moving to the Hull area from London in the early 1940s with his wife Margery and a young Jean, Walter Allan opened a saw mill and timber business in nearby Beverley.
It was in 1946 that Walter transferred his business know-how and creative thinking into building caravans, driven by the emergence of caravan holidays in the post-war period.
Following her father’s death in 1970, and since moving away from Yorkshire, Jean had lost touch with Willerby and was unaware of how much the business had grown.
After reading a media article about the company’s achievements last year, Jean called Willerby’s head office to say her father would be proud to see how far the business he founded had come.
The Willerby team jumped at the chance to reunite with Jean and invited her to take a tour of a modern Willerby holiday home at a luxury holiday park in Cornwall, close to where she lives.
Following that reunion, Willerby – an active member of the Holiday and Residential Parks Association (HARPA) – invited Jean and her family to visit Hull to see see how the business her father founded has developed.
During the tour, Jean and her family had the opportunity to meet many of Willerby’s dedicated team members, including some of the company’s longest-serving colleagues who have been with the business for over 40 years.
Jean said: “My father really cared about his workforce and he was well-liked and respected by all his employees, so he’d be thrilled to hear so much positive feedback from colleagues who work for the business now.
“Ensuring his employees were treated well was close to my father’s heart, so he’d be delighted to know that that ethos is still firmly at the heart of the business today.
“He was also very innovative, creative and came up with numerous new products and ideas during the early days of Willerby, so it’s fantastic to see how the company is continuing to innovate and develop new industry-leading products,” said Jean.
