Firm Foundations
The T C Harrison business was established on the 18th May 1931 at 17 Abbeydale Road, in Sheffield, next to the Royal Hotel on the corner of Abbeydale Road and London Road.
The country was going through the worst depression in living memory; in Sheffield there were thousands unemployed and it was certainly not the ideal time to start a new business. A few weeks earlier, Autoways, the main Ford dealer had closed down due to very difficult trading conditions but Thomas Cuthbert Harrison was undeterred. With the help of Henry Cadman, a young man who had just left school, he began the task of cleaning the place and trying to make it look like a workshop. In the first few days customers did call in because TCH was quite well knownby local business people. Any spare parts had to be obtained from Brook Shaws in Norfolk Street, then the main Ford dealer. Every time a part was required, Henry would go on the shop bicycle and collect them, whilst TCH carried out the jobs.
Commercial Growth - 1930s
1935 arrived and with it a great deal of expansion on the commercial side ... as the country started to emerge from the depression of the early 1930s. At TC Harrison our hopes and spirits were high. This time the main attraction at the Ford Show was the Ford 8 at £100! As output increased the selling price reduced and this made the Ford Popular really live up to its name! ...It was not all work and the boss occasionally thought of other things apart from the business and many times during the summer months we would all meet up at the Glossop Road swimming baths at 7am. TCH would be there waiting to see us all in with tickets. We stayed till 7.40am and then back for a cup of tea to London Road – before starting work at 8am.
World at War: 1939-1945
It took the government months to draw up plans for war and meanwhile at our London Road premises we received a letter from the boss:
War EmergencyDue to the above factor I have found it necessary to reduce wages all round instead of the alternative of reducing staff. This will take effect from 1st October 1939. This has been fixed on the basis of a 45-hour week with shifts operating from 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday, 8am to 1pm Saturday and the second shift will be 12noon to 8pm Monday to Saturday and 9am to 2pm Sunday. Your weekly wage will be £1 10s. Should the volume of work make it necessary however, I hope you will co-operate in completing it after the hours stated. Yours sincerely TC HarrisonHe handed the letter to everyone personally and expressed his regret at the action he had to take. He promised that when work returned he would pay us a bonus to make up for the money lost.
Peacetime Returns
By 1946 the soldiers, sailors and airmen began to be demobilised and the former employees of TC Harrison came back home and most returned...Throughout the six years of war for the old serving employees TCH sent our wives a cheque each Christmas for £50. When we returned to work he was the first one to welcome us back.
The First 25 Years: 1957
This was the year we completed the large new car showroom and prior to its opening we had a ‘Ford on Show week’, which was a great success. We carried out 706 free inspections and reports,the highest of any Ford dealer that year! After work we often went down into the service department and lent a hand till 9pm andthen TCH would take us for a drink in The Sportsman on Sheldon St.
Swinging Sixties
The policy of TC Harrison during the 1960s was continual expansion to provide better facilities and give a better service to our customers; carrying out expansion and redevelopment at all our sites. 1964 saw the arrival of the 40-hour working week, which was good for the workers but meant reduced opening times for the customer.
Digital Age
1970s. The group had by now expanded beyond all recognition. In 1977 a merger with Peterborough Motors Limited made us one of the largest dealerships in the UK.
Death in the family
On 22nd January 1981 – just four months from celebrating 50 years in business – T C Harrison died. He was buried at Rowsley, where he had lived. TCH’s sons Edward and John took over.
1980s to the future
In 1981 the group had over 24 dealerships across the country, made apre-tax profit of over £2 million and employed over 1,000 people. Still very much a family firm with employees who shared the same enthusiasm,determination and confidence as in the early days ...
As we move into 2011 TCH’s grandsons, James, Jonathan and William are now managing directors and the business still holds by its key principles of listening to what its customers really want and offering the best value across all departments to keep motoring costs to a minimum.
At the recent Motor Trader Awards it won the Group Used Car Retailer award and was highly commended for its website(tch.co.uk). Now to celebrate its 80th birthday a range of exciting new initiatives to reward loyal customers is being planned. TC Harrison has its hands firmly on the wheel as it drives onwards into the 21st century.
