We have received the sad news that veteran UK based crane operator Trevor Churchill has died. He passed away last week at the age of 84, he would have celebrated his 85th birthday in September.
Trevor Churchill
Churchill started off as a stone mason and entered the crane and lifting industry in 1967 when a friend of his persuaded join him at the recently established crane rental business of Richards & Wallington plant hire as a crane driver. Which was based in Wharf Road Tysley, on the south east side of Birmingham.
A BCHC Hydrocon
In those early days operators had to be prepared to drive any crane in the fleet, and he would have started off with something like a Hydrocon or small Coles lattice truck crane. He progressed to one of the flagship cranes the 100 tonne Coles Centurion lattice truck crane, one of the world’s largest mobile crane when launched in 1963. He also operated on of the first P&H 125 lattice truck crane to arrive in the UK.
A couple of Coles Centurions at work
He stayed with the company though a period of acquisitions and was rebranded BCHC - British Crane Hire Corporation. He also had the ‘opportunity’ to drive one of the few Clark Cosmos 755 telescopic truck crane, that were built. The Cosmos cranes featured a low slung, racing car inspired chassis cab and joystick crane controls in the superstructure. Many of them were apparently built incorrectly, with the slew ring welded off centre and as a result were prone to overturning. It happened to Trevor while lifting a boat into or out of the river Mersey, He ended up in the river sustaining some very serious injuries, not to mention the intestinal challenges of taking in large amounts of filthy river water.
A Cosmos 755
After some time in hospital, he ‘got back on the horse’ and went back to work. His son Glenn followed in his footsteps joining him in 1975 as an apprentice mechanic as BCHC. And in fact, the two worked together for a while on a 140 tonne Demag, with Glenn helping his father out with the heavy rigging as he struggled on account of his injuries.
When BCHC closed down in the early 1980s Trevor Churchill became a truck/ heavy haulage driver for a while, before joining Baldwins for a short while and then Sparrows, followed by a couple of years as crane operator on the offshore oil rigs.
Back on dry land he was persuaded join Interlift part of the Al Jaber group. When it pulled out of the UK he moved to Ainscough Crane Hire and along the way operated 300 tonne Liebherr, and a 500 tonne Demag, most of his life was spent as a heavy crane operator. Somewhere along the way he was badly injured while changing a trye on a big Gottwald.
Eventually his injuries got the better of him and he was obliged to retire early, going on to nurse his second wife through six years of dementia until she passed away. He dedicated his final decade to improving his property and enjoying the odd game of golf, until he simply couldn't get out of the house.
In the words of his son Glenn: “My dad was a member of the old guard of experienced operators that worked by the seat of their pants in machines, that by today's standards were prehistoric to say the least but, which pioneered today's technology.” I was only a child when he started out in the lifting industry, but I remember fondly my summer holidays travelling around the country with him in the ‘suicide cab’ of old Coles strut jib cranes to work on motorway construction projects country wide. My father was a proud man and ‘did not suffer fools lightly’ he was dignified to his end and will be missed by many of us.”
He leaves behind his first wife Brenda, and sons Glenn and Mark. His funeral will be held on the 5th of August at 14:00 in Southport Crematorium, 159 Southport Rd, Scarisbrick Southport PR8 5JQ. In lieu, please make donations to cancer research.
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