Joseph Bamford could shoot, fish, swim, and sail. Bamford paid more than fair wages, which rose regularly, and annual bonuses based on reports of individual worth. In 1967 Bamford stood on a farm cart and handed out personal cheques totalling £250,000. This extraordinary focus in return gave unprecedented levels of workforce flexibility, with the average JCB employee through the strike-dominated 1970s and early 1980s being seven times more productive than the average British manufacturing worker. In 1975 Bamford and his wife Marjorie (née Griffin – married 1941) handed over the business to their two sons, and retired to Switzerland as tax exiles.
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