Prince
Philip visited Park Royal in 1959 or 1960? It has to be no earlier
than 1959 as Sir Wavell Wakefield
took up his position as Chairman that year and if it were later than 1961 then
Leyland would be represented, and it is not; though Bill
Black became Leyland's chairman in 1963.
Does anyone know the exact date of Prince
Philip's visit?
Prince Philip subsequently visited the Leyland factory in 1966 (four years after Leyland's acquisition of ACV and thus PRV also) and drove an Atlantean around the test track with passengers Don Stokes (MD) and Sir Bill Black, Leyland's soon-to-retire Chairman and former Chairman of PRV (and ACV's MD) whom he met on his PRV visit below.
(Images from the Don Matthews collection)
Here begins Prince
Philip's tour outside PRV's offices in Abbey Road, Park Royal. His
Rolls Royce having been swiftly replaced for the 'photo-op' by RM2, the second prototype
Routemaster. All designed to maximise the publicity in the Royal press
that PRV is where the Routemaster is built.
Bill Shirley (PRV MD) [long coat] welcome's
Prince
Philip.
L to R:
Bill Shirley behind Bill Black (then ACV MD); far right
Prince
Philip.
L to R: Sid Collett,
Bill Shirley, Prince
Philip and Sir Wavell Wakefield (PRV
chairman since 1959).
R to L: Sir Wavell Wakefield,
Prince
Philip,
Bill Shirley, Bill Black.
Prince
Philip and welcoming staff in a corner of the factory.
Prince
Philip shakes hands with some of the factory's employees.
Who is
the guy in the Top Hat - I could hasten a guess that he was Tommy
Harwood,
always game for a laugh and a founding member of the Park Royal Concert
Party;
he would do that!.
Prince
Philip says his final farewells before getting in his chauffeur driven
Rolls Royce.