Ballard Removals of Newark in Nottinghamshire turned out its whole vehicle fleet for a ceremonial drive-by on Monday 3 September to recognise the 60th birthday of its founder Richard Ballard.

East Markham locals could have been forgiven for thinking that the whole village was moving home, when the main fleet of Ballard Removals vans turned out to mark this landmark occasion recently. The multi-vehicle drive-by of Ballard Removals’ vehicles, a franchise of national removals company Bishop’s Move, had heads turning as it passed the Queen’s Hotel on East Markham High Street and served as a timely reminder of how far the company has travelled since it was established in the North Nottinghamshire village in 1979.

After beginning his working life as a miner, Richard Ballard, along with his wife Janette, founded the East Midlands-based removals business 33-years ago with just one transit van. Over the past three decades the business has gone from strength to strength, with a fleet of 11 vehicles and 30 staff.

Today, Richard’s eldest son, Matthew, is Operations Manager for the firm and was driving the lead road train of the drive-by to celebrate his father’s special birthday. He commented: “Dad was born and bred in East Markham so to see his life’s work drive past him in the village where he has lived all his life was very special.”

Matthew also commented that it had been difficult getting all the vehicles in one place, especially on a Monday.  “Due to our seven-day trans European commitments it’s very rare that our fleet of vehicles are all at the base at the same time these days. But with a little careful planning the entire fleet was in attendance to help mark dad’s special birthday and it was an ideal opportunity for him to see the entire fleet roll past him.”

Joe Ballard, Richard’s youngest son who manages the warehouse and the fleet maintenance added, “The last few years of business have been very demanding, but despite a challenging environment we continue to successfully expand. Seeing all our vehicles drive down East Markham high street made this achievement feel very real and it was a really proud moment, both for dad and for everyone involved in the day to day running of Ballards.”