History | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

	Des as a Cadet in Jeppe Boys

Des at Primary School

He joined the army in the armoured car unit at the age of 17. He trained in the desert of North Africa with the Royal Armoured Corps, where he transferred to a tank regiment. He joined the European Campaign in Italy, where he saw action. During the Italian winter when the roads were impassable, he was transferred to the transport units. This is where he came into contact with transport and logistics, which became his passion in life. He finished up with the 11th South African Armoured Brigade in 1945 at the age of 20.

	Des' Father - John

Des crossing the River Alno outside Florence, Italy

His father died when he was just 17 and undergoing military training at the Inland Area Headquarters in Hurlingham, Johannesburg (today known as Tara Hospital). During the war, he sent money back to his mother. His mother was an astute woman; she was one of first women to deal on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Instead of using the money, as he had intended, she invested it. When he arrived back from the war she surprised him by producing the share certificates saying, "Desmond, here is your scrip".

Sister and Brother Bridget - Grant - Des

Des' Mother Barbara

The Scrip

He enrolled at Wits University for a B. Comm. Having been rapidly matured by 3 years of active service, he found the degree process too slow, so he left after six months and continued with his degree through correspondence.

He got a job at the Metal Box Company, in their junior accounts section for £17.10 a month. Not long thereafter, he was given, in his terms, "a big deal promotion" up to £24 a month. He saw an opportunity to get closer to logistics, and through an accountant friend got a job with Protea Holdings Ltd in 1948, where he did costing and shipping.

Des had always had the feeling that transport in South Africa was going to grow and develop. He believed that there was tremendous potential, but was quite uncertain of how to get into it.

In order to break into the transport sphere he went around to the local Road Transportation Board, and asked the secretary if there were any businesses looking for capital and people. They told Des that there were two, one in freight and one in passengers. What would he prefer? After giving it some thought, he decided to go into freight, a little business called Tweedies Transport, which had been started by some ex-servicemen.

Des sold the shares that had been bought by his mother and had sufficient to buy a third shareholding. They worked long and hard, starting at 7 in the morning and ending at 9 or 10 at night often including weekends. Tweedies concentrated on parcel delivery work - small stuff to the ambitious young Bolton. Des started going out and knocking on doors and getting bulk transport work. He was going to engineering firms who were supplying the mines in the Free State and Klerksdorp and getting more and more involved in the mining supply. They did however get to the stage where they were "too big to be small and too small to be big" and they just couldn't handle the increased volumes. Desmond Bolton found the answer in consultation with his auditors, and little Tweedies merged with Lyons. Tweedies had petrol vehicles and a growing customer base, and Lyons had the larger diesel vehicles. He was made transport director of the enlarged business. And the company took off. With time, the impatient young Bolton decided, after much deliberation, that it was time to go into business for himself.

"Old Faithful" - No. 1

	The trucks with their drivers at Leven Siding

He came across a contract to move coal for Anglo Alpha from Witbank to their Roodepoort Cement plant. Lyons did not want to take on this type of work. Bolton was keen, and with their blessing, undertook the business.

In May 1955 a partnership with Ernest Reid (who had technical knowledge) was formed in the name of Heavy Hauliers. Des borrowed £2000 from a family friend to put towards his first truck; the Mercedes-Benz LS315 TBJ 1134 for £3360. This was the vehicle destined to become "Old Faithful".

Des managed to secure a contract for a further four vehicles with Union Corporation to service the start-up mines in the Eastern Transvaal, Winkelhaak, Bracken, Leslie and Kinross.

Leven Siding

	Rand Airport Head Office

The Heavy Hauliers partnership was not working and Des decided to "Go it alone" and so formed Cargo Carriers in January 1956. He set up at Leven Siding and installed a gantry to facilitate quick movement of goods from rail to road.

"Old Faithful" moved on to Leven Siding on the mines in the Kinross area, where Des moved "anything from pencils to locomotives".

Not long before the wheels of Cargo Carriers began rolling, they moved to Germiston.

As the business grew, the office was moved to the old meteorological tower at Rand Airport and the workshop was in Hanger 10.

In 1975, he was founding chairman of the Public Hauliers Association (PHA), which later became the Road Freight Association (RFA).He formed the successful Hallmark Motor Group from one dealership which has grown to interests in fifteen dealerships, dealing in Mercedes Benz and Toyota vehicles.

In 1979 he bought into the 105 year old Searles Holdings, largely a footwear manufacturer.

He was elected by The Sunday Times for being one of the Top 5 Businessmen in South Africa.

Desmond Bolton was a self-made top executive and was extremely proud of his huge business that surely ranked as one of, if not the largest, privately owned road transport operations in southern Africa at that time.