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
Eric Quayle the prolific Michael Foreman. Quinton Quayle, the retired British diplomat, is one of Eric's children as is Chrissy Quayle ("The Mermaid of Zennor") the musician. Quayle died in a fall from the cliffs at Zennor Head near to his home, "Carn Cobba"; a house noted for its cliffside gardens. Eric Quayle Eric Stanley Quayle (1921–2001) was a noted British bibliophile, collector, historian and author. Over his lifetime he built up a substantial collection of books (16,000 volumes at the time of his death) and literary ephemera amongst which were materials by and about R. M. Ballantyne, the Victorian adventure story