Crossgates Carriage Works
Undated
Image is a postcard showing an aerial view of the Charles H Roe Ltd carriage works on Austhorpe Road. The factory built in 1920 and covering 4 acres built bodies for public service vehicles. By 1951 the site spread to cover 36 acres and employed 450 people with a reputation of excellant craftsmanship when producing durable vehicles.
During WW2 the factory produced a variety of vehicles for the war effort, these included domestic car conversions into ambulances accumulater trolly's and air raid response vehicles
Memories
Chas. H. Roe was on Manston Lane, Austhorpe Road having taken a sharp turn right opposite the Manston Pub.
The building just visible in the bottom right is the Admin block of the old Royal Ordnance Factory, Barnbow where I started as an apprentice in 1962. Barnbow was built 1939-40 so this picture must be after that but the buses in Roe's yard have a distinctly 50's look about them
Bob Muirhead
