JCB (company) as a generic description for mechanical diggers and excavators and now appears in the "Oxford English Dictionary", although it is still held as a trademark. JCB was founded by Joseph Cyril Bamford in October 1945 in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England. He rented a lock-up garage . In it, using a welding set which he bought second-hand for £1 from English Electric, he made his first vehicle, a tipping trailer from war-surplus materials. The trailer's sides and floor were made from steel sheet that had been part of air raid shelters. On the same day as his son Anthony was born, he
Cyril Gordon Martin Cyril Gordon Martin Cyril Gordon Martin VC CBE DSO (19 December 1891 – 14 August 1980) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was 23 years old, and a lieutenant in the 56th Field Company, Corps of Royal Engineers, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 12 March 1915 at Spanbroekmolen on the Messines Ridge, Belgium, Lieutenant Martin volunteered to lead