Coventry coach king Harry Shaw dies aged 87

[dutchman]

His son Robert has paid tribute to his well-known father



Coventry businessman Harry Shaw has died at the age of 87.

He launched the coach company that bore his name in the 1960s and the firm has remained a household name in the city ever since.

Harry Shaw sadly passed away on Friday, November 9, with his family around him and his son Robert told CoventryLive that Harry's death had come as a "shock".

Paying tribute to his father, Robert said: "He has had a long life in business in Coventry and has many achievements.

"The one thing he always wanted to do was to help people.

"He has been in business since the 1950s and bought his first coach in 1964 and has been a big business figure for a long, long time.

"It's very sad for us personally and as a business."

The firm was originally started by Harry Shaw in 1951 offering a milk delivery service.

Mr Shaw got the ball rolling with a milk float and two milk churns.

In the post-war era milk was not delivered in bottles and Mr Shaw delivered it by the jug direct to people’s homes.

He then imported milk vending machines from the US which were installed in Coventry’s busy car factories.

Mr Shaw then moved into road haulage before buying his first coach in 1964. This led to bases and offices in Coventry, Bedworth and Rugby.

The firm’s reputation blossomed due to the fact it replaced its vehicles - which were appropriately painted sky blue - every 12 months.

Mr Shaw’s sons Robert and John joined the firm in 1981, a decade that saw the rapid growth of its travel business as they began coach tours to Mediterranean resorts.

In 2016 the company closed it shop in the city centre - in City Arcade - with business now being done solely from its base in Binley.

[Jock Strapp]

I opened your link Dutchman in the Spon St misinformation thread and saw the picture of Harry Shaw. I could never really say that I was a friend of Harry but I knew him quite well back in the 50s. He owned a number of slot machines around Coventry and we occasionally met him doing his rounds emptying his machines. A true gentleman who would always stop for a chat. I know that he was liked and respected by his employees. Coventry lost a good man with his passing.