Birmingham's Industrial History Website

ERDINGTON GARDEN MACHINE COMPANY, 

174 Slade Road
Erdington. Tel ERD 7077

The Erdington Garden Machine Company  was established by Ralph Price in around 1957 in partnership with Arthur Sullivan, both had previously worked at Clifford Cultivators in Hall Green which closed in 1956.. 

Ralph Price had previously had a garden contractor’s business known as Price Cultivations. He had run both business from his sister’s house in Rosary Road, Erdington. 

While he had Price Cultivations he had used an ex army vehicle to ferry around a Clifford Mk 4 cultivator, this was later replaced by a red Ford Thames Dormobile, if you took the seats out you could get the Mk 4 in with the handlebars folded down! 

In those days builders just used to leave gardens in a total mess, so a lot of his work concentrated on new estates. He was a friend of Bert Bond, the head groundsman at Villa Park and he got a contract for completely rotaving one half of the pitch at the end of the season. He also did the same at St Andrews. A centre page article and photographs in the Sunday Mercury at the time show him doing this. 

Price had originally proposed the name, Midland Garden Machine Compnay (MGM) but it had been turned down on the basis that this name made the business look bigger than it was! All company names had to be registered in those days. 

After they outgrew the front room in Rosary Road the company moved to a shop on the corner of Slade Road and George Road, no 174 (now occupied by an Indian Restaurant). Next door was Harry Whiston ((172) and on the other side 172, RJ Lebeter, Ladies Hairdressers, next to them was Donaghue the builders. Over the road was Norman Sale ironmongers and Mrs Slater, bread and cake shop.

The red Ford Thames was replaced by a sign written blue Thames pick up truck.

The Wolseley company had just started making the Merry Tiller under licence and Erdington Garden Machine Company was appointed the main agent for the Birmingham area. 

EGM also sold all the other usual cultivators and mowers including Howard, Shay and Atco. 

They attended local shows, having a stand at Canwell, Tamworth (Castle Grounds) and the Tulip Festival at Cannon Hill Park and also the Handsworth show. Other local garden machine companies at the time were, The Carlton Service Station at Balsall Common, Parker & Ballinger at Sutton Coldfield and Hancox, later bought by Mc Cormack, at Acocks Green. 

Ex Austin (Longbridge) fitter Barry Bott was employed as a mechanic. A workshop was made from the cellar beneath the shop and a mower cylinder grinding lathe machine from a Nottingham company was installed. 

Erdington Garden Machine Company went bankrupt in the 60s.

Ralph Price later went onto form P & E Carpets with Roy Edwards. This company was well known in the Birmingham area in the 60s.They put handbills through doors and held local carpet sales in pubs and church halls a lot of which are now knocked down. Brays Road, Sheldon, The Victory Hall, Castle Bromwich. The Grapes Pub, Bacchus Road, Handsworrh, Reddings Lane, the Fox at Walmley. The Black Horse at Northfield. Cotteridge & Stirchley, Pineapple Road. 

Most of the carpets were bought at the warehouse of Sam Locker (Locker Carpets) his brother having a similar business in Manchester. Sam was a little known Birmingham millionaire owning Esslock Properties who had offices in New Street, Birmingham. Sam was a frugal man and it is said that after he moved into his mansion on Wake Green Road he went around replacing the light bulbs with lower wattage units to save money. He bought two Rover 75s in South Africa and returned to the UK selling one for the price he had paid for both! 

Most of the warehouse carpets were Belgian cotton carpets. Lockers warehouse was originally an old canal warehouse behind the new Repertory theatre but after that area was developed they moved to Sampson Road North. In the 60 s another carpet warehouse was opened in Lozells in Johnstone Street by the Manchester firm of Mercado, who are still trading in Manchester. 

The partnership of P& E carpets split and the company closed in the early 70s when Ralph Price (stage name Rolf Day) started as a full time professional comic, eventually appearing  in the BBC TV series, 'Gangsters', shot in and around Birmingham including The Rum Runner Night Club.