Trick Son & Lloyd
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W.B. Trick, Son & Lloyd was a business in Neath and Port Talbot, Wales, Great Britain trading as travel agents and estate agents (real estate broker) with the oldest paper record being around 1878. The business embodies and reflects the evolution of the development of trade and professions from the latter part of the Industrial Revolution through the turmoil of World Wars in the 20th century and the changes brought about through the new technologies that brought the jet age and space travel.
The business was typical of the evolution of any business at that time being born from the ability and foresight of a man, William Burrows Trick (W.B.Trick), the founder of the business. The town of Neath in the late 19th century had evolved from being a Roman fortified crossing point on the River Neath through being a Norman fortified market town in the 12th century to a centre of industry, transport and communication in the 19th and 20th century.
W.B.Trick was an entrepreneur in a prosperous town contributing to its development and was a mayor of the town of Neath. Records show he his business included accountancy and real estate at a time when there were few formal trade organisations regulating trade and enterprise. He set up business in an office in the town and ran the auctions at the local cattle market, which sold sheep, pigs and cattle from the surrounding farms.
The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century brought many new industries to Neath that would change the town and the surrounding areas considerably. Coal was mined in the valleys around the town with agriculture, mainly animal husbandry, on the hills valleys around the mines. Iron smelting, steel production, tin plating followed that made the building of canals, railways and sea ports. The 20th century brought more modern industrialisation with the construction of a new petroleum plant at Llandarcy oil refinery.
The business was contracted by British Petroleum (BP) to acquire the land for the construction of their new refinery.
Many of the local population emigrated to the 'New World' and sold their possessions at the auction sales held by W.B.Trick so the Cunard and White Star shipping lines appointed W.B.Trick as ticket agents that led to the company becoming travel agents. The business flourished and W.B.Trick's son, G.D.Trick took a partner, Mr, Lloyd to form the partnership known as W.B.Trick, Son & Lloyd.
A new employee, William Herbert Glyn Thomas (W.H.G.Thomas) joined the business in 1933 directly from school and showed interest in the travel agency side particularly; his efforts expanded the businesses travel agency in the 1930s.
Following World War II the business was partly broken up with the cattle auction side of the business being sold to a cattle auctioneers business from Cowbridge with the original business continuing with domestic and commercial estate agency and travel agency.
World War II brought rapid advancement in air travel because of new technology and surplus aircrew and aircraft. As Britain rose to become a prosperous country once more from destitution of fighting World War II the burgeoning travel agency industry expanded with W.B. Trick, Son & Lloyd continuing the entrepreneurial tradition of its founder.
The business took on new licenses to sell a wider range of travel services in addition to the sailing tickets for shipping lines, IATA for airlines, railway tickets and then package tour sales.
Holidaymakers traveled to and toured Europe by bus, train and by airplane and cross channel (English Channel) ferry tickets for the expanding number of motor cars.
The biggest impact came from the jet airliner that made transatlantic and intercontinental air transportation economic to transport larger numbers of people that resulted in the demise firstly of the North Atlantic shipping lines and then world wide shipping with passenger liners changing to cruising.
P & O, the largest shipping line expanded into retail travel agency and in 1970 W.B. Trick, Son & Lloyd was take over by that company.
The estate agency side of W.B.Trick, Son & Lloyd evolved until 1986 under the names of W.B. Trick, Glyn Thomas & Son with the addition of Martyn W G Thomas to the partnership who continued under the name of Trick & Thomas until 1986.
