Massey Brothers

A Massey-bodied Guy Arab bus

Massey Brothers (Pemberton) Limited was formed in 1904 by the three brothers William, Isaac and Thomas as timber merchants and building contractors and were based in Pemberton two miles west of Wigan in Lancashire. During the first fifteen years they built schools, mills, cinemas and houses and in 1919 started in the construction of bodies for cars, vans and charabancs. In the early 1920s a number of trams and buses were built for Wigan Corporation and their coachbuilding activities increased rapidly with many new customers being supplied by the end of the decade. Their building and construction activities continued throughout this period. By the mid thirties Masseys were supplying bodies on buses and trolleybuses mainly for municipal undertakings with occasional orders coming from independent operators. They were very active during the second world war in the building of "utility" bodies for many operators in England, Scotland and Wales plus fire brigade utility vehicles. After the war the company was increasingly busy as the need for new buses gained momentum and the rebuilding of bomb damaged property took place. Masseys had a high reputation for solid PSV bodywork with their distinctive design. Building and construction work ceased in 1962 after the completion of some new houses but PSV bodybuilding continued until 1967 when they were taken over by another Wigan bodybuilder, Northern Counties Motor & Engineering Company.^[1]

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