Lucas Freight / JW Lucas & Co.
1928 - 2004
In 1928, John Walter Lucas, a son of the
renowned Capt. John Lucas, purchased a small import /
export business operating from the Albert Pier with a
regular trade to / from St. Malo. The type of general
cargo that was carried included such diverse commodities
as fresh eggs and gloves.
John A. de Garis joined the new company
as a young man and when John W. Lucas died in 1929 after a
period of illness he took over the "reins" and became the
active partner with JW's son Harold, a civil servant.
At about this time the Agency was
acquired for ships belonging to William Muller & Co.
of Rotterdam which brought regular consignments of glass
and flower bulbs from Antwerp for the horticultural
industry. This traffic was later transported to Rotterdam
and a regular general cargo service was established
between Rotterdam, Guernsey, Jersey and Bordeaux in France
on a fortnightly basis.
The Second World War intervened and
afterwards the service recommenced carrying thousands of
tonnes of wines, foodstuffs, horticultural equipment and
various other general cargo.
The company also acted as Ships Agents
for bulk cargoes of grain, timber, peat, cement and also
exported tar, a by-product of the Gas Company.
An insurance department covered cargoes
and expanded into vehicles, boats and household policies.
In 1955, after the death of Harold Lucas,
John A. de Garis acquired JW Lucas & Co. and continued
to trade with the name that was so well known
internationally.
Then in 1959 he was joined by his son
John N. de Garis and the business continued to fulfil its
important roles.
The business progressed and in1978 the
company moved to their present much larger warehouse and
offices on the St. Julian's Emplacement at the White Rock,
St. Peter Port.
During the 1970's and 80's ownership of
the Dutch shipping line changed several times and was
eventually acquired by Allied Coasters Ltd. of Guernsey
who took over the Rotterdam agency.
JW Lucas & Co's freight forwarding
connections continued to grow and expand to include
transhipment through the major UK ports of Felixstowe,
Tilbury, Thamesport and Southampton as well as
Rotterdam and St. Malo.
John de Garis senior was still active in
the business at the age of 95 until shortly before his
death in 2001 after 73 years of service he was then
succeeded by John N. de Garis.
In to the 21st Century JW Lucas & Co.
continues to provide many services within the shipping
industry as Ships Agents, Customs Clearance Agents,
Warehousing and Distributors, at all times using the
experience of many years to the advantage of their
clientele.
At the end of 2003, John N. de Garis retired and in January
2004 Adam and his wife Denise took up the reins. At
the same time Robert Lowery (Rob) started; unfortunately his
learning curve was very steep as Denise gave birth to a
beautiful daughter, Sidney on the 3rd February 2004. |
Lucas Freight / JW Lucas & Co.
2004 - date
A couple of years down the line, it was
evident with the ever increasing work load that an
additional member of staff was required. In June
2006, Sally Elliott joined the ranks. Sally has
worked within the shipping world before and has brought
with her, new experience and knowledge adding to that of
Adam & Rob and generally Lucas Freight Ltd.
At the end of 2006, Art Osborne, our
Storeman / Driver, retired leaving his duties to Adam
& Rob which enables them to keep 'hands on' with all
aspects of the business.
From January 2004 through to August 2007
Denise continued to provide her services on a part-time
basis, looking after Lucas Freight's accounts; however
when her (and Adam's) second child was born on the 18th
October 2007, has remained a Mummy at home.
In 2008 we bought a new van, a LWB High
Top Fiat Ducato which was utilised with a full three
pallets collecting from a client daily. Also there was a
new forklift to the company, an electric, zero mast
height Lansing 2.5t - this is like having a Rolls Royce
compared to the 'old smoker' we did have (which is
still being used today within the horticultural industry
locally)...
In the Summer of 2010 we had new offices
built within our warehouse (with a new phone system and
computers) which replaced those constructed way back in
the 1970's. It's clean & warm when it needs to
be (very rare we need to switch the heating on as its so
well insulated) and cool when it needs to be (with the aid
of air-con). Lovely! Thanks Mr. Landlord!
In 2010 a photographic festival was
started by Jean-Christophe Godet & Chris
Humber.... The Guernsey Photography Festival - for
2010, 2011 & 2012 Lucas Freight sponsored some of the
International & Local Logistics. As Adam is
a keen amatuer, he exhibited his own exhibition
within the 2011 festival showing 20 images of St. Peter
Port Harbour entitled Harbour Life
The end of 2012 saw the demise of Condor Logistics, we wish
all of the staff the best of luck for the future - some have
already taken up positions within other operators and some
have changed trades completely - It was a massive shock and
all thanks the loss of LVCR - If it hadn't been Condor it
could have easily been any of the other large operators.
It all just seems a little unfair that its ONLY the
Channel Islands that have lost this provision, any other NON
EU country can still ship in to the UK under LVCR. However,
what is done is done, we carry on!
Our traffic will change but our service levels will
remain... Lucas Freight continues to offer honest and
reliable services and as always "Our job
satisfaction comes from knowing that our clients are
satisfied! "
This being our 85th year of trading we
continue to look forward to providing many more years of
service, which we are sure to do with the support of our
satisfied Clients, Customers and Friends.
this page was last updated 01/01-2013 therefore as today is 14th August 2024 I've been very tardy - I am trying to put together something that fluffs out the last 11 years, please be patient :-) |