A family story that began with two horses

Our history, year by year

1. 1910The beginning

   A 4am start and two horses

   The story starts in 1910 with founder Thomas Robert Jones, the first man to be employed by BP on Anglesey. He was paid £1 2s 6d per week for looking after two horses and making deliveries of lamp oil to Amlwch, a journey which demanded a 4am start.

   He also delivered to a coastal ship, but if he missed the tide, the load came back!

   £1 2s 6da week, in 1910
2. 1930sHard years

   A tanker of his own

   The business has seen many changes, not least from horse power to petrol driven lorries. Petrol was originally supplied in two gallon cans, as there were no service stations.

   When BP and Shell, who also had a depot nearby, amalgamated, Thomas lost his job. With his few savings, he bought a tanker and set up his own business. The 1930s were not good, and the business just survived selling lamp oil to shops and ironmongers, and TVO for tractors.

   

3. 1951Second generation

   One of the first authorised distributors

   After the war, Thomas’ sons Owen and Edwin joined the business. These were much better years: farmers especially were spending money on new machinery, and more vehicles were using the new fuel, diesel.

   With the boom in diesel, Shell Mex and BP set up a national franchise of authorised distributors, and in 1951 T R Jones & Sons became one of its first authorised distributors.

4. 1971Third generation

   Owen carries on

   In 1971, Edwin’s health deteriorated and the business went up for sale. The deal collapsed and Shell asked Owen if he would continue on his own. Owen’s son Richard completed an accountancy course and joined his father in the new business.

   By 1973 the Monopolies Commission decided that Shell and BP had become too large, so they separated. The wheel had gone full circle, and T R Jones now became a Shell distributor.

   

5. 2004Fourth generation

   Lubricants and an articulated tanker

   In 2004, Richard’s eldest son Marcus joined the business following an engineering degree at Swansea, beginning the fourth generation of the company.

   The next few years saw the company develop its lubricant business, becoming an authorised agent for Morris Lubricants, and invest in an articulated tanker, allowing it to offer large bulk fuel deliveries and to carry all its own fuel requirements in-house.

   

6. 2012The biggest change

   Fully independent

   2012 saw the biggest change to T R Jones & Sons. Following Shell’s decision in 2011 to sell the refinery at Stanlow, marking an end to the ‘Shell Distributor’, on 1 February 2012 T R Jones & Sons became fully independent after 60 years as an authorised Shell distributor.