Willerby welcomes founder’s family for 80th anniversary VIP tour

The family of the man who founded leading holiday home manufacturer Willerby have enjoyed a VIP tour of the company’s headquarters and manufacturing facilities. 

Jean Morris, the only child of Willerby’s founder, Walter Allan, travelled from her home in Devon to the company’s site in Hull for the occasion.

The visit reunited 92-year-old Jean with her father’s legacy as Willerby begins a special year marking the 80th anniversary of the business.

Jean was joined by her sons, Simon and Andy, and daughter-in-law Patricia for the memorable visit, during which they met Willerby colleagues, toured the impressive facilities and stepped inside Willerby’s newest model. 

The special visit prompted happy tears and laughter from Jean and her sons, with the family sharing a particularly poignant and heartwarming moment when they saw Walter’s photograph in pride of place on the Willerby timeline displayed at the entrance to the production facilities. 

Jean said: “I never imagined I’d have the opportunity to come back to Hull and see the current Willerby site. I’m completely amazed by it. 

“The thing which surprises me the most is the size and scale of the operation. My father started this business as a one-man band from a small shed and it’s grown to such an impressive scale. 

“I don’t think he could have ever imagined what it would look like all these years later, but I know he’d be delighted!” 

This year marks the 80th anniversary of Jean’s father founding the business. After moving to the Hull area from London in the early 1940s with his wife, Marjorie, and a young Jean, Walter Allan opened a saw mill and timber business in nearby Beverley.

It was in 1946 that Walter transferred his business know-how and creative thinking into building caravans, driven by the emergence of caravan holidays in the post-war period. Walter was then a resident of Willerby, on the outskirts of Hull, hence the name of the new business.

Following her father’s death in 1970, and since moving away from Yorkshire, Jean had lost touch with Willerby and was unaware of how much the business had grown. After reading a media article about the company’s achievements earlier this year, Jean called Willerby’s head office to say her father would be proud to see how far the business he founded had come.

The Willerby team jumped at the chance to reunite with Jean and invited her to take a tour of a modern Willerby holiday home at a luxury holiday park in Cornwall, close to where she lives.

Following that special reunion, Willerby invited Jean and her family to visit Hull, to tour Willerby’s facilities and see how the business her father founded has developed. 

The visit began with a meeting with Chief Operating Officer, Nicola Budge, and Chief Commercial Officer, Darren Black, who welcomed the family to the site and told them about the company’s operations today. 

Willerby Production Director, Aaron Cambridge, and Production Manager, Mark Cook, then led the manufacturing area tour, which took the family along one of Willerby’s fast-paced production lines, enabling them to see the entire process of how a holiday home comes together. 

Beginning in the chassis construction building, the family followed the production process from start to finish, watching Willerby’s experienced teams building the outer frames, installing fixtures, fittings and furniture, carrying out quality control and finally seeing a completed holiday home roll off the production line. 

During the tour, Jean and her family also had the opportunity to meet many of Willerby’s dedicated team members, including some of the company’s longest-serving colleagues who have been with the business for over 40 years.  

Jean said: “My father really cared about his workforce and he was well-liked and respected by all his employees, so he’d be thrilled to hear so much positive feedback from colleagues who work for the business now. 

“Ensuring his employees were treated well was close to my father’s heart, so he’d be delighted to know that that ethos is still firmly at the heart of the business today. 

“He was also very innovative, creative and came up with numerous new products and ideas during the early days of Willerby, so it’s fantastic to see how the company is continuing to innovate and develop new industry-leading products.

“I know my father would be immensely proud and happy to know what has happened to the brand that he started all those years ago. I’d like to extend a huge thank you to the Willerby team for welcoming us and for bringing the memories of my father even closer.” 

Following the tour of the manufacturing facilities, the family also visited Willerby’s Showground and looked around the latest edition of Willerby’s flagship model, the Vogue. 

Production Director Aaron Cambridge said: “It was a privilege to meet Jean and her family and show them around our facilities, especially as we’re beginning a very special year marking 80 years since her father founded the business

“It was definitely the most special and memorable tour I’ve ever given! 

“I’ve spent my entire career in this industry and it has given me a brilliant working life, so I owe a lot to Walter for the part he played in not only founding Willerby, but being at the very forefront of starting the holiday home industry as a whole. 

“It was a pleasure to hear more about the early days of the business, as well as find out about what kind of person and employer Walter was. From Jean’s description and stories, I definitely think I would have got on with him!” 

The visit was not only special for Jean, but was also incredibly poignant for her sons Simon and Andy, who have fond memories of their Grandad from their early childhood. 

Simon said: “Mum has always been so immensely proud of her father and has always talked about him so fondly, sharing many happy memories of his time at the helm of Willerby. 

“As a family we’re delighted that she has had the opportunity to see what has become of her father’s business, which started from humble beginnings and has gone through such an impressive evolution.” 

Andy added: “I’m so proud to say that my Grandad set up this business, which has not only given hundreds of people successful and long careers, but has also created special holiday memories for so many families over the past eight decades.”