BIFA History
“ From the early days, the Institute showed great foresight in identifying a need for standard terms and conditions that would protect the shipping and forwarding agent
Brian Kelleher: FIATA president 1995-1997
Derek Heys: FIATA president 1967-1971
such as solicitors or doctors, there was no measurement or certification in place so a professional qualification was devised. The course took three years to complete, with the first year being shared with The Institute of Exports. During my time as BIFA director general, I met or spoke to many past members of the Institute who had each made great contributions to our industry and deserve to be remembered. For reasons of space, I am detailing just two memories in this article to illustrate some of what the Institute achieved and to reflect on past working practices. Individual contributions Brian Kelleher (National Chairman 1982/3) joined LEP as a management trainee upon leaving the Army in 1955. It was expected as part of his progression that he would study for the Institute qualification as a vital stepping stone. Brian attended evening classes at the City of London College near Moorgate from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm twice a week. The following eight subjects were studied: geography; commerce; law of contract; finance in international trade; sale of goods act; insurance; port transport; and Customs procedures. There were different lecturers for each discipline, with intermediate examinations held after two years and finals after three years. Brian was incentivised by a salary increase. He was earning £10/10 shillings (in 2024 equal to £10.50) and he received £1 extra a week for passing. Brian won the national prizes for both forwarding and airfreight. After a long career in forwarding, including holding the post of chairman of the IFF from 1982-1983, Brian was elected president of the global freight forwarders’ body, FIATA, from 1995-1997. There have been only two forwarders from the UK that achieved the career pinnacle of being FIATA president, the first being Derek Heys from 1967-1971. Derek was a stalwart of the Liverpool branch of the IFF and was national chairman in 1962. The featured photographs of Derek and Brian are copies of those displayed among all past FIATA presidents at the FIATA HQ in Geneva. When Brian joined the industry, airfreight was in its infancy and most forwarding activity in London was
based around the Pool of London. During his career the industry dispersed, with the London International Freight Terminal (LIFT) in Stratford and the expansion of the docks at Tilbury hastening the end of the London docks. The memories of David Ashford also reflect the way forwarding operated in the 1950s. After leaving grammar school in 1956, David joined Lambert Brothers in Cunard House, Leadenhall St, EC3, as a junior clerk. He became the ‘City Boy’, collecting and delivering various documents throughout the City. A regular call was to the Chamber of Commerce, then situated in Cannon Street. Promotion gave him a new role as the ‘West End Boy’. This entailed delivering consular documents to the various embassies which were sited mainly in the West End of London. He went twice a day to the Port of London Authority (PLA) in Trinity Square to pay ‘port rates’. From there to the Customs House Long Room in Billingsgate to lodge other documents and finally to The Entry Branch in Adelaide House on London Bridge, in order to lodge port entries and pay duty and tax. In between he would board a number 43 bus in Moorgate, with a collection of paperwork and entries for processing by HMC&E postal imports based at the Royal Agricultural Hall, Upper St London N1. In 1965, David successfully obtained a position as shipping clerk with an international road haulier who had just opened an office in the little-known port of Felixstowe, then known as Felixstowe Dock. The office was in an old seaplane hangar at the dock gate. It served the new roll- on/roll-off ferry service to Antwerp and Rotterdam operated by Transport Ferry Services, who were pioneers at the very start of the expansion of the port of Felixstowe. David founded one of the first independent forwarding agents in Felixstowe, Felixstowe International Shipping Ltd. It is impossible to detail the full history of the Institute, and those who built it, in a short magazine article. Certainly, there are many names that need to be remembered for their contributions. Memories and contributions If any members have information and memories of past stalwarts of BIFA and its forerunners, please get in touch with Robert Keen (r.keen@bifa.org).
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