Celebrating 40 years with the same caravan company

A MAN who started his career building special showman’s caravans for circus performers is celebrating 40 years with motorhome and caravan sales company Salop Leisure.

Service engineer Evan Capes started working at M. R. Pascalls Ltd at Oakengates before moving to Salop Leisure when workmate Geoffrey Betts and his wife Marjorie bought Salop Leisure at Meole Brace, Shrewsbury.

Forty years on and Mr Capes now travels in excess of 30,000 miles a year servicing and repairing caravan holiday homes across Mid Wales and the Heart of England.

Reflecting on his career, he said: "During my first five or six years building showman's caravans we often had circus people and animals around. If there were repairs to be done to a showman's caravan the circus people would live in another of their caravans while we were doing the work in the workshop.

"They would be practising their acts, like walking the tightrope and feeding the lions in the rear yard while we worked.

"I also made special exhibition units for banks and building societies and mobile incident rooms for the police. When I joined Salop Leisure, I worked mostly on repairs and I am still repairing caravans 40 year later.

"Modern caravans with their central heating, double glazing and all mod cons are phenomenal, totally unrecognisable from the early models that I worked on."

Salop Leisure Chairman Tony Bywater commented: "Forty years' service to the same company is a remarkable achievement It has been a pleasure and privilege to work alongside him for most of those 40 years."

Mr Capes (seated in the picture) celebrated his 40 years' service with a special anniversary cake presented to him by Salop Leisure directors Dylan Roberts, Tony Bywater and Mark Bebb.

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