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.
Tommy Bamford 1935–6 season. He left for Swansea Town in 1938, but the outbreak of the Second World War a year later halted his career, and by the time the war ended six years later Bamford was 40 years old and promptly retired from playing. Bamford was handed his international debut for Wales on 25 October 1930 in a 1–1 draw with Scotland in the 1930–31 British Home Championship, scoring Wales' goal after just six minutes. After numerous Football League sides refused to release their players for the match due to a fixture clash, the Welsh side for the match was made