B&Q was founded in March 1969 in Southampton, England, by Richard Block and David Quayle, following the purchase and fitting out of a former furniture warehouse in the Southampton suburb of Portswood. Originally called Block & Quayle, the duo soon shortened the brand to B&Q as stock delivery notes and invoices were already unofficially abbreviating the name. By each working over sixty hour, six day weeks, they were able to repay their bank overdraft within six months of opening, with turnover reaching £1million within the first five years of operating. Following the departure of co founder Block in 1976, the chain
Anthony Quayle Anthony Quayle Sir John Anthony Quayle, (7 September 1913 – 20 October 1989) was an English actor and theatre director. He was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role as Thomas Wolsey in the 1969 film "Anne of the Thousand Days", and played important roles in such major studio productions as "The Guns of Navarone" (1961), "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), "The Fall of the Roman Empire" (1964), "Operation Crossbow" (1965), "QB VII" (1974), and "The Eagle Has Landed" (1976). Quayle was knighted in 1985. Quayle was born in Ainsdale, Southport, Lancashire, to a Manx family.