Nationalisation
In 1920, the company was sold again, to Hays Wharf Limited, on the back of a burgeoning post-World War I home removals business. Pickfords still continued to operate under that name. In turn Hays Wharf was taken over by the four main British railway companies in 1934 and was subsequently nationalised in 1947 as part of British Road Services and what would become the National Freight Corporation (NFC) in the 1969.
In 1942, the Heavy Haulage division moved Mulberry harbour sections (temporary harbour) to sea launchings prior to them being towed across the English Channel for the Normandy landings.
As part of the NFC, Pickfords was involved in a wide range of haulage activities, including heavy haulage (moving oversize loads) from the 1950s to the 1980s. The company absorbed several well-known haulage companies during this period but then withdrew from the sector. A number of former Pickfords vehicles have been preserved and can be seen at events, demonstrating moving outsize loads along with the earlier steam tractors.
Read more about this topic: Pickfords, Corporate History