DO YOU REMEMBER – THE MILK FLOAT?
By Ellie Priestley |
23rd June, 2020
When the world was young and The Goodies ruled BBC2, the sound of a Wales and Edwards electric motor was as much a part of the morning’s routine as hearing the postman’s BLMC J4. Our dairy of choice was Unigate, and the float regularly dispensed Silver Top during the week and, for weekends and holidays, the extravagance that was Gold Top. On occasion, we might also buy eggs, yoghurt, and butter from the cool box to save on a trip to the local Wavy Line store. As for purchasing a plastic bottle of milk from the supermarket - that was as outlandish as any Doctor Who adventure.
And in Hampshire of 45 years ago, the red & white delivery vehicles were as much a part of everyday life as the bottle-green coloured Ford Transit mobile shop that sold Amazin’ Raisin bars and other fine goods. Milk floats had a starring role in 1965’s The Early Bird, which often aired on the BBC
while Benny Hill - Southampton’s favourite son - promoted Unigate on ITV. H M Government fixed the price and profit margins for milk with the result that in the 1970s Britain made 1,200 floats per year.
Wales & Edwards Ltd. of Shrewsbury produced their first battery-powered float in 1951. Its list of standard fittings was somewhat limited; instead of a windshield, the driver had to use a canvas screen as a form of weather protection. However, the latest in floats quickly proved its worth, and seven years later Commercial Motor magazine remarked on ‘the supremacy of battery-electric vehicles for milk-delivery work’.
One advantage of using such a vehicle was saving a dairy a considerable amount of money as compared with an internal-combustion van. The route was carefully inspected for the number of stops plus the length and degree of any gradients while the depot staff carefully scrutinised the battery readings. The annual mileage of a W&E could be remarkably low as they often travelled a maximum of 40 miles per day.
The 1980s saw a change of legislation which meant retail outlets could undercut dairies and by the 1990s it seemed that the milk round could go the same way as black and white television programmes. By 2016 a mere three per cent of milk was distributed via an electric float. Yet, in recent years W&Es and their ilk have proved remarkably adaptable for new forms of home delivery. The spirit of Alfred Hawthorne Hill lives on -
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