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 Uwins Cyril Uwins Cyril Frank Uwins OBE, AFC, FRAeS (1896–1972) was a British test pilot who worked for Bristol Aeroplane Company, where he made the first flight of 58 different types of aircraft. On 16 September 1932 he broke the world aeroplane height record by climbing to (nearly 8½ miles). He eventually became the Chairman of Bristol Aircraft. He was also Chairman of the Society of British Aircraft Manufacturer between 1956 and 1958, and he was awarded the Royal Aeronautical Society silver medal for aeronautics. Cyril Uwins was born at 2 Carmichael Road, South Norwood, Croydon, on 2 August 1896, the