Collapsible Shelters : advert issued by John Smith & Co (London) Ltd : in Highway Engineers Reference Book, 1950 - 51
It used to be the case that alongside most road works and repairs you would find a similar canvas structure designed to allow the workforce to have a break or a cuppa, or shelter in the most inclement weather! These days I suspect a van does the job.
There were, of course, numerous companies who made similar collapsible shelters but this advert was issued by the London based concern of John Smith's whose main works were in Chadwell Heath, Essex. Smith's were manufacturer's of tarpaulins - waterproofed canvas sheets that would have been used to create the shelter in the days before plastic materials - and they were major suppliers and hirers of 'tarps at the London Docks, just down the road, and other major ports, etc.
Collapsible Shelters : advert issued by John Smith & Co (London) Ltd : in Highway Engineers Reference Book, 1950 - 51
It used to be the case that alongside most road works and repairs you would find a similar canvas structure designed to allow the workforce to have a break or a cuppa, or shelter in the most inclement weather! These days I suspect a van does the job.
There were, of course, numerous companies who made similar collapsible shelters but this advert was issued by the London based concern of John Smith's whose main works were in Chadwell Heath, Essex. Smith's were manufacturer's of tarpaulins - waterproofed canvas sheets that would have been used to create the shelter in the days before plastic materials - and they were major suppliers and hirers of 'tarps at the London Docks, just down the road, and other major ports, etc.